Enter the Angel
by RavenRunning
Summary: When a mysterious girl shows up in Loguetown, the Strawhats end up adding another member to the crew. Who is she? What are her ties to the captain? And what mysteries lie in her past? Follows canon pretty well, except for a few minor changes to work in my character. Starts out a little slow, but it gets better I promise!
1. Chapter 1: A Sudden Introduction

**Chapter 1**

**A Sudden Introduction**

A huge gust of wind suddenly blew through the streets of Loguetown. People and shop fronts alike jostled Zoro as he flew by.

"Where the hell did this wind come from?" the swordsman muttered.

He'd been fighting Tashigi, but then this wind had come and blown them all away.

Zoro crashed into the ground as the wind finally started to die down.

"Now where did everybody else go?" he wondered, sitting up.

"Here," he heard a weak, quavering voice from behind him.

Turning, Zoro saw that the wind had blown all the members of the crew together. Usopp had been the one who had answered him.

"Well that was fun," laughed Luffy, getting up and dusting himself off.

Zoro stood and checked his swords.

Suddenly, he heard a sharp cry above him.

"Help!"

The crew looked up. There was something, no, there was _someone_ in the sky!

"Help!" came the cry again.

"Who is that?" asked Sanji, craning his neck to look up.

"Whoever it is, they're falling pretty fast," muttered Zoro, "They'll kill themselves for sure."

He jumped into the path of the plummeting person and they collided in midair. The force of the collision was a little more than Zoro had expected, and they crashed into a nearby building.

Once the dust had settled, Zoro found himself under someone.

"Hey, move will you," he grunted as he started to push the person off of him.

The figure let out a small whimper as it started to move. Zoro could make out a mass of long brown hair and a black leather jacket.

"Are you hurt?" he asked the pile of hair.

A hand came up and brushed the hair out of the persons face, revealing a girl. She looked down at Zoro through glazed eyes.

"Take me to your captain," she gasped.

This startled Zoro and his body jerked up.

The girl whimpered again and fell sideways off of him.

"Oooh! An angel has fallen from the sky!" cried Sanji and rushed over to where the pair was lying on the ground.

Zoro saw Sanji coming.

"Hold it you shitty cook," he snapped, "She's hurt."

Zoro could see her clearly now. Her hair was dark and wavy and came to about half way down her back. There was a loose braid going back and down her head from behind her left ear. She wore a black leather jacket over a blue shirt and she had grey shorts on. Zoro noticed that she had two necklaces around her neck, one gold and one silver.

The girl raised her head again, reaching out her hand to grab Zoro's wrist. She seemed to not be aware of the other men surrounding her.

"Please," she panted, "Take me to Luffy."

"Huh?" said Luffy, surprised.

The girl winced as she tried to pull herself up, she didn't seem to hear him.

"I've finally found him," she whispered, almost to herself, "I need to get to Luffy."

Her eyes focused a little bit and her gaze met Zoro's.

"You're part of his crew aren't you?" she asked, sounding a little worried, "You are Roronoa Zoro?"

"Uh…" Zoro stuttered, he could feel his face turning red.

He could see the girls face full on now. She had big green eyes, filled with ready to fall tears. She looked like she was in a lot of pain. But she struck a chord in Zoro. He had never felt like this towards any woman before. He thought she was beautiful, which was impressive in and of itself, but his heart just started racing and he wasn't sure he felt scared or happy. He liked the way she had said his name. He quickly looked at the ground so the others wouldn't see his face.

"Please," groaned the girl again, her hand slipped and she fell back onto the ground, "Take me to your captain."

"Okay," was all Zoro could get out.

The girl smiled and pushed herself up with her hands again. Her face contorted in pain and she slumped forward. Zoro caught her before she hit the ground.

"Hey, are you going to be okay?" he asked, pulling her up.

Her eyes were closed and she looked like she had passed out.

"Well, she wanted to see you Luffy," Zoro grunted.

He picked up the girl and held her out to Luffy.

The captain came over and looked into the girls face.

Suddenly his eyes widened and a look of shock swept over his face.

He faced the rest of the crew.

"She's coming with us," he stated.

Usopp's eyes widened, Sanji looked quite pleased and Zoro concealed his grin.

Just then, they heard a voice coming in on the wind.

"Guys!"

"That was Nami-san!" swooned Sanji.

"We need to get on the Merry now!" exclaimed Usopp, seeing how far out to sea the ship was already.

"Hang on a sec," laughed Luffy.

He ran back towards the ruined building Zoro had smashed into.

"What are you doing Luffy?" asked Zoro warily.

They watched as Luffy grabbed onto a metal rafter and stretched out his arms.

Zoro saw what was coming and tightened his grip on the girl in his arms. He was startled at how much she weighed. She was light as a feather. It felt like the next gust of wind could blow her away.

The girl was resting her head on his chest. He could feel her press her face against his shirt.

"I've finally found you, Luffy," he heard the girl sigh into his chest.

Then he felt her muscles relax. She must have lost consciousness again.

Just as this happened, Luffy's body shot back and scooped up the four of them and they were catapulted, screaming, out to the Merry.

"Damn you, Luffy!" shouted Usopp as he landed heavily on the deck, "You're trying to kill us!"

"Oh, sorry," mumbled Luffy, getting up.

"Guys," gasped Nami, running over to them, then she stopped short, "Who is that?"

She was pointing to the girl, who had fallen out of Zoro's arms and onto Sanji's lap, much to Sanji's delight.

"We've found a mystery woman, Nami-san," said Sanji, moving his hand to stroke the girls' hair.

Zoro stood up and snatched the girl to safety before Sanji's hand fell.

"Here, Nami," Zoro held out the girl's body to the navigator, "She's hurt."

"We're keeping her," Luffy put in.

"What?" gasped Nami, then she stared, "You can't just decide to keep someone Luffy, she's not a pet!"

Luffy shrugged and walked towards the masthead.

Nami shook her head and looked back to Zoro and Sanji.

"Where did she come from?" she asked.

"She fell from the heavens," cooed Sanji.

Nami blinked.

"Well she doesn't look too hurt, I'll put her in my room for now," Nami said.

"Nami is so wonderful when she's caring!" swooned Sanji.

Nami carried the girl into her room and put her down on the bed.

"Well, I guess I'd better bandage you up since you'll be here for a while," she muttered as she rummaged through a trunk looking for their first aid box, "I wonder why Luffy wants you to come with us?"


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting the Crew

**Chapter 2**

**Meeting the Crew**

Hawke awoke in a dark room. From the motion and sounds, she knew she was at sea.

"Could it be," she whispered to herself, "Or was that all a dream?"

She remembered the events that took place before she lost consciousness. The huge gust of wind, the fall, and then the man.

"It was definitely Roronoa Zoro," Hawke thought, "And he is definitely part of Luffy's crew."

Hawke sat up and groaned. Her whole body was stiff. She looked down and noticed some bandages around her waist. She twisted her body from side to side.

"No pain," she sighed happily, "Just sore. I should be fine."

Then she shuddered and clutched her waist.

"Did they see anything?!" she exclaimed in a terrified whisper.

Suddenly she heard voices outside the room.

"Food! Sanji!"

Hawke dropped her hands and sprang out of the bed. There was no mistaking that voice.

She hobbled towards the door on her stiff legs and pulled it open. Light dazzled her eyes and she brought her arm up to shield them.

There were sounds of movement below her and she could hear laughter.

"Luffy!" she cried.

The noises below her stopped.

Hawke lowered her arm and her eyes adjusted to the sunlight.

Before her was the deck of a ship, all around her was the sea and all above her was blue sky and sun.

She could see figures on the deck and moved forward to the railing. There was a girl with orange hair at the bow of the ship, standing beside the masthead, which was a giant sheep.

There was the swordsman with the green hair sitting against the wall, he seemed to be sleeping.

And there were two other people on the deck. They seemed to have stopped moving in the middle of a wrestling match. There was a man with black hair and a long nose who was sitting on top of…

"Luffy!" Hawke cried again and ran down the steps, forgetting about her stiffness.

The man pinned on the ground jumped up with a cry, sending the man with the long nose flying.

"Hawke!" Luffy shouted and jumped up, wrapping his arms and legs around Hawke and enveloping her in a big hug.

"Oh, Luffy! I knew I'd find you!" cried Hawke, returning the hug.

"It's been so long," said Luffy, unwinding himself and standing next to her.

He leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"It's nice to see you, Sissy."

Hawke shot him a nervous look.

"I always tell you you shouldn't call me that," she said.

But Luffy ignored her.

"Everyone!" he shouted, taking Hawke's hand.

The girl at the bow came forward and hit the swordsman on the head.

"Wake up Zoro!"she said, "We're meeting the girl you brought."

Zoro woke up, rubbing his head, "Stop hitting me, woman! I don't take orders from you!"

"Whatever," said the girl and came over to where Luffy and Hawke were standing.

Hawke heard a door open behind her.

"Oooohhhh! The mystery woman is awake! How are you my beautiful!" came a voice.

"Calm down Sanji, you'll scare her away," said the man with the long nose, he had gotten up and was standing beside the girl with orange hair.

Another man with curly eyebrows emerged and stood beside the man with the long nose.

"Usopp, you cannot think that this beautiful woman would run away from a true gentleman?!" said the man, winking at Hawke.

This made Hawke blush and she looked at the ground.

"Oh she's so modest, oh! My heart can't stand her cuteness!" the man swooned.

"Shut up Sanji," snapped the girl.

"Nami-swan! I love it when you're assertive," cooed the man, waving his arms around.

"Everyone!" shouted Luffy again, raising Hawkes hand with his.

"This is our new crewmate. Her name is Hawke."

"What?!" the crew shouted, "Luffy you can't just make people crew members like that!"

"Sure I can," laughed Luffy, "I'm the captain. Plus, I made her a promise."

"Yes you did, Luffy," laughed Hawke and she held out one of the necklaces she wore around her neck.

It was a gold chain with a gold cross pendant on it.

Luffy laughed again, "You still have that, great!"

"What is that?" the swordsman asked, he had gotten up and joined the group.

"This is Luffy's promise to me that I would be part of his crew someday," explained Hawke.

"I'm so glad you're here," shouted Luffy again, giving Hawke another hug, "This means we can have a feast! Sanji! Food!"

"Alright, alright," said the man with the curly eyebrows, "But only because a beautiful woman is probably hungry," he winked at Hawke again.

She blushed, "Actually I am quite hungry, thank you."

"I shall prepare a meal worthy of a goddess!" exclaimed the man and ran back through the door that he had emerged from.

"That was Sanji, our cook," said Luffy, "This is Usopp, our sniper, Zoro, our swordsman, and Nami, our navigator. And this ship is the Going Merry, the ship of the Strawhat Pirates!"

"I'm so proud of you, Luffy," laughed Hawke.

"We get to have a feast!" shouted Luffy and ran after Sanji.

Hawke watched Luffy go and smiled.

"So, you two know each other then," Nami said as she came up beside Hawke.

"Yeah, we grew up together in the same village," explained Hawke, "He's my b-," she hesitated, "-best friend."

"Oh, okay, well that explains why he was so quick to make you part of the crew," said Nami.

"And he gave you that necklace?" asked Zoro.

Hawke turned towards him.

"Yes," she explained again, "I think a pirate friend of his, Shanks, let him have it from their treasure. It was his promise to me before he left that I would be part of his crew one day and sail to the end of the Grand Line with him."

"Hmph," grunted Zoro, and went into the ship.

"Don't mind him," said Usopp, "He's still sleepy."

Hawke smiled uncertainly.

"Well, let's go in for the feast," said Nami, "You can tell us about your past while we eat."

Hawke's smile faltered for a second before coming back onto her face.

"Yeah," she said "That'd be great!"

The rest of the crew made their way to the galley.


	3. Chapter 3: Hawke's Story

**Chapter 3**

**Hawkes Story**

"This is a really wonderful feast Sanji," said Hawke, filling her plate with a huge assortment of food, "You're an amazing cook!"

"The flattery and compliments of a gorgeous woman are like mountains of treasure to my heart," sang Sanji, "Hawke-san, you are a jewel among women."

Hawke blushed and turned her attention to the others at the table.

Luffy was stuffing his face with everything he could reach.

"Just like old times," Hawke sighed happily.

She made sure her arm was between Luffy and her food before turning her attention to the others.

Zoro seemed to be drinking more than eating, though he was eating almost as fast as Luffy. Usopp was trying to keep his food from being snatched by the captain, and failing.

"Men are quite messy aren't they," laughed Hawke to Nami, who was sitting next to her, "How did you handle being the only girl for so long?"

"I don't know how I did it," laughed Nami, "But I'm afraid it's rubbing off on me."

Nami devoured her plate and reached for seconds.

Hawke laughed and started on her own plate.

"Luffy! Give me back my chicken!" she shouted and used her cup to pin Luffy's outstretched arm to the table and retrieved her chicken leg.

"You're a quick learner," said Zoro.

"Oh, Luffy hasn't changed one bit," laughed Hawke.

Zoro's faced darken a little and he went back to draining his mug.

"Did I say something wrong?" Hawke whispered to Nami.

"Oh, that's just Zoro," Nami sighed, "He's always mad at something, don't let it bother you."

"Oh, okay," Hawke replied, glancing back over to Zoro.

He had been looking at her but quickly turned his eyes away again. Hawke wondered if she had said something that offended him.

A sudden commotion at the other end of the table drew her attention. Luffy and Usopp had jumped onto the table and were dancing around with chopsticks stuck in their noses. They looked so ridiculous. Hawke couldn't stop laughing.

Once the feast was over, and things started to quiet down, Sanji started to pick up the plates.

"Here, let me help you," said Hawke as she stood up.

"Oh, no my dear lady," cooed Sanji, "I would never sully your hands with work such as this."

Then he turned to Usopp and Luffy.

"Hey! You two help me wash up."

"Aww why do we have to," whined Usopp.

"Just shut up and help," replied Sanji.

Hawke laughed and sat back down.

She noticed Nami was looking at a map.

"So I'm assuming we're headed to the Red Line?" said Hawke as she glanced over Nami's shoulder.

"Yeah, how'd you guess?" asked Nami.

"Well it's really the only place to go after Loguetown, and I'm sure Luffy wants to get to the Grand Line," said Hawke.

"That makes sense," laughed Nami.

"You're such a genius Hawke-san!" swooned Sanji.

Hawke waved towards the kitchen, and then bent down close to Nami's ear.

"Is he always like this?" whispered Hawke.

"Unfortunately yes," sighed Nami, "It isn't so bad though, we won't ever have to do dishes."

Both girls smiled at each other.

"So," said Zoro suddenly.

Hawke looked over at him.

"Aren't you going to tell us about your history with Luffy?" he asked.

"Well that's a little forward Zoro," said Usopp.

"What?" snapped Zoro, "I just want to know about the new crew member. If I'm going to be living with her, I think I have the right to know about her."

"It's alright Usopp," said Hawke, "I don't mind. If Luffy trusts you guys, then I think I can trust you."

She turned to Zoro again .

"But you make it sound like me and Luffy were _involved_," she smiled.

Zoro's face lifted a little.

"You're saying you weren't?" he demanded.

"No," laughed Hawke, "We were just good friends, Zoro, we were only seven."

"You were that young?" asked Nami, looking surprised.

"When Luffy left, yeah," replied Hawke, "His grampa took him away and I didn't know where he went. Luffy and I had been friends ever since I can remember. I was an orphan in the village, and Luffy was my only friend."

Luffy came out of the kitchen and sat on the table.

"Me and Hawke used to train together all the time. But I went to live somewhere else and Hawke couldn't come with me. That's why I made her a promise to be on my crew when we were both stronger."

"Yeah," said Hawke, "I stayed in the village until I was fourteen. Then I decided to set out to look for Luffy."

"If you'da stayed until you were seventeen, you would have seen me set out to sea," said Luffy.

"What!? You came back to the village?" shouted Hawke, jumping up.

"Yeah," laughed Luffy, "I never left our island."

"What?!" shouted Hawke again and slammed her fist into the table.

"Woah, calm down," said Nami.

Hawke stood still for a few moments, her head was bowed and her shoulders were shaking.

"Are you okay, Hawke?" asked Usopp.

Hawke's shoulders relaxed, she raised her head and smiled.

"Sorry," she apologized, "I'm fine."

There was a pause.

"So what happened after you left?" asked Zoro.

"Well," said Hawke, "I took a small fishing boat and set out, but there was a big storm and my boat didn't stand a chance. It got destroyed. I managed to drift ashore on another island and there was a man there who took me in."

Hawke shuddered.

"Hmm?" questionned Luffy, "Wasn't he nice for having saved you?"

"I thought he was at first," said Hawke, "And I said I would stay with him for a while to think of what I should do next. But he tricked me and kept me a prisoner. It turns out he was an evil scientist who experimented on the people he found washed up on shore."

Hawke sat down and bent her knees up to her chest.

"Did he experiment on you?" asked Usopp quietly.

Hawke nodded and shivered.

"What kind of sick person does that?" said Zoro, "What did he do?"

Hawke glanced over at him. He was watching her intently. She shifted in her seat and continued.

"I don't think I'm ready to say yet," she said looking towards Luffy.

Luffy was aslo staring intently at her.

Hawke looked back at her feet and continued.

"Well I escaped from there, and I managed to take his experiment notes and formula with me. I burned them all so no more innocent people would ever have to go through what I, and so many others, went through –"

Zoro suddenly stood up. Everyone looked at him. He came and sat down on the bench next to Hawke.

"What's up Zoro?" asked Luffy.

"Just keep telling your story," said Zoro.

"Umm, okay," said Hawke, "Well, I did burn all his notes, but the formula didn't get destroyed as I thought it would."

She reached down and held up the other necklace she wore around her neck. It was a silver chain with a marble-like pendant on it. The marble was covered in dark blue and purple swirls.

"It only melted into this sphere," Hawke continued, "I made it into a necklace and kept it close to me. My goal is to find a way to destroy it. So far, anything I've tried to do to it hasn't worked. I've even hit it with a cannon ball, but it didn't so much as dent it."

"That's one tough pearl," said Sanji, leaning over to get a look, "It looks so fragile too."

"Well not even a sword can damage it," said Hawke, staring at the sphere, "I hate it, I hate that it touches my skin every minute of every day."

She held it up higher.

"Then why do you keep it?" asked Usopp, "If you hate it, why don't you just throw it into the sea?"

Hawke stood up, tears filling her eyes.

"Because if I did that, then it might wash up on the same shore and he might find it again and use it again. I can't let that happen!" cried Hawke

"Okay, okay," shushed Usopp, "I'm sorry."

Hawke sat back down.

"I'm sorry, Usopp," she apologized, "I shouldn't have gotten excited."

"Well what happened after you escaped?" asked Nami.

Hawke was glad for the change in topic. She cleared her throat.

"Well I was stuck on that island, but I my fire caught the attention of a passing pirate ship. They took me on board. But I learned that the only reason their captain decided to let me on was so that I could be their entertainment."

"What do you mean by 'entertainment`?" asked Zoro.

"Well..." Hawke paused, "I was forced to dance for them and do whatever they wanted me to. It would have been a nightmare if the first mate hadn't been kindhearted. He told the crew that I was too young and shouldn't be treated in any perverse way. And he would punish anyone if they tried anything. He let me sleep in his room when the weather was bad."

Hawke noticed that Zoro's hand, which had been gripping his sword tightly, relaxed a little.

"I spent a three months on that ship," continued Hawke, "And my dancing skills improved remarkably," she laughed a little.

Then her face grew serious again.

"But then one day the navy attacked the pirates. I thought I would drown because the ship was sinking and I was chained to the mast. But one of the marines saw me and saved me and took me aboard the navy ship. When I told him what I was doing on the pirate ship, the marine said that he would make sure I got to land safely."

Hawke smiled again.

"I was on the navy ship for a while because they had to continue their tour before they went back to their headquarters. And I got to know the marine that saved me very well. He had a wife waiting for him when he got home and he was so excited to return to her. He talked about her every day and said that she would approve of me. That made me happy. I got to know all the other marines and I even showed off my dancing for them on a couple occasions. When the ship finally got back to headquarters, the marine that saved me invited me to live with him and his wife. I accepted and spent the next two and a half years with them. They were both marines and they helped me train to be stronger. So now I'm good with a sword and with my knives."

Hawke looked over to Luffy.

"I bet I could beat you even faster now," she taunted, sticking out her tongue.

"No way!" laughed Luffy, "I've gotten way stronger too."

"Knives?" asked Nami.

"Oh yeah, that's my specialty, I'm a knife thrower," explained Hawke.

"We have quite the variety of weapons experts now," said Sanji, "If you don't mind me asking Hawke-san, but where do you keep your knives?" he looked her up and down.

"You pervert!" shouted Usopp and Zoro.

Hawke decided to surprise Sanji.

"It's a secret Mister Chef," she said as she bit her lip and gave him puppy eyes.

"Wooooaaaahhh!" swooned Sanji and fell over and started rolling around on the ground.

Zoro's mouth dropped open slightly.

Hawke laughed.

"You shouldn't encourage him," warned Usopp.

"Well, anyways," Hawke continued, "Since I was living near the navy base, I got to see all the new wanted posters that they put up. And one day I saw yours Luffy. That night I set out for Loguetown, because I knew you would end up there one way or another. I was lucky that I found Zoro when I did or I might have missed you. I never did properly thank you swordsman-"

Hawke scooted closer to where Zoro was sitting.

"Since you know my story now, you realize how much it really means to me to finally be back with my friend. So thank you."

Hawke wrapped her arms around Zoro and pulled him into a hug.

"Wait! What are you doing, stop it," Zoro fussed and tried to pull away.

"Uh, Zoro," said Luffy, tilting his head to the side, "Something's wrong with your face, it's all red."

"Well I assume this is the first time a girl has been that close to him," laughed Nami, "He isn't used to the attention."

"Hawke-san! Please give me a hug too!" swooned the cook.

"Drop it Sanji," muttered Usopp.

Hawke let go and sat back.

"And I'm sorry for anything I said at dinner that might have upset you," she said.

"What -, you- , what? You never said anything that upset me!" snapped Zoro, "What are you going on about?" he smoothed out his shirt and lowered his face, which was still quite red.

Hawke smiled.

"Men are always so dense, aren't they Nami," she laughed.

"Yes they are," laughed Nami, "Boy, am I glad there's finally another girl on your crew Luffy."

Luffy laughed and rolled off the table. This caused everyone to break out into laughter.

"Well," Usopp panted after they had been laughing for five minutes straight, "I think it's time to call it a night."

"Right," shouted Luffy, "Everybody sleep!"

And with that he fell onto the ground and started snoring.

Sanji picked him up.

"Us guys have the hammocks downstairs, Hawke-san, you could probably share Nami-san's room," he said as he dragged Luffy out the door.

"Actually, if it's okay with the captain, I can take the watch. I slept half the day away, so I'm wide awake," offered Hawke.

"mmzzzsure..," muttered Luffy.

"It's settled then," laughed Hawke, "You guys have a good sleep, I'll be fine."

"Alright Hawke-san, be safe my darling," cooed Sanji as he disappeared downstairs with Luffy over his shoulder.

"Are you sure, Hawke?" asked Nami, "You're more than welcome to share my room for a while, until we can get you your own."

"I'm sure," said Hawke, "I wouldn't be able to sleep anyways."

"Alright then," said Nami, looking up at the clouds, "Stay warm."

Nami went up to the room Hawke had awoken in earlier.

Oh so that's her room, thought Hawke.

Usopp came to the door.

"The crows' nest is up there, and the ladder is right there on the mast," he said while pointing.

"Thanks Usopp," Hawke smiled, "Have a good night."


	4. Chapter 4: A Moonlit Fight: A Bond Forms

**Chapter 4**

**A Moonlit Fight: A Bond Forms**

Hawke climbed up into the crows' nest and settled down for the night. It was already dark out but the moon was almost full and lit up the sea. Hawke watched the stars twinkle and thought about the crew she had just joined.

She knew she was right in trusting Luffy's crew. They were all amazing people and they've taken good care of Luffy. Hawke was sure that Luffy never would have made it this far without them.

A gust of wind suddenly whipped Hawkes hair and sent shivers down her back.

"Brr," muttered Hawke, "It got cold fast."

She pulled her jacket tighter.

"I wonder what he's thinking?" she wondered, "Why does he keep calling me Sissy?"

Hawke's thoughts had turned to Luffy.

"He keeps me hoping," she complained to herself, "I almost slipped up there, before dinner. I almost said he was my bro-"

Hawke caught herself.

She sat there in silence for a while, watching the light on the water and listening to the sound of the waves. Something landed on her eyelash, blurring her vision.

"What's this?" said Hawke.

She looked up and saw that it had started snowing.

"I was right," she shivered, "It did get cold fast."

Just then, Hawke heard movement on the deck below her.

Looking over the edge, she saw someone coming up the ladder.

"Is that you swordsman?" she called down.

"Here, I brought you this," Zoro muttered as he reached the crows' nest and threw in a blanket, "You should listen to the navigator."

"Thank you," said Hawke and she took the blanket and wrapped it around her body.

She looked back at Zoro, "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Nah, I'm awake now," replied Zoro as he climbed into the crows' nest.

"Oh here," said Hawke as she held out a piece of the blanket, "If you're going to stay up here with me."

Zoro looked at the smiling girl offering him a blanket.

"No," he said, blushing, "I brought that for you."

"But you'll catch a cold," persisted Hawke, "And this ship doesn't have a doctor yet."

"I'm sure if I caught a cold, which won't happen by the way, that you or Nami could heal me."

"Oh? And why is that?" asked Hawke, still holding out her arm.

"Because you're women. Aren't you born with that type of knowledge?" snapped Zoro.

Hawke laughed.

"You really are dense Zoro," she smiled, "Women aren't born like that."

She sighed and lowered her arm.

"But I do know how to cure a cold."

"There see," said Zoro, "I was right."

Hawke smiled.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Hawke was looking up at the sky again.

"So why did you join Luffy?" asked Hawke, bringing her gaze back down.

"Well he saved me from execution and said he'd help me reach my dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman," recounted Zoro, "That's really all there is to it."

"The world's greatest swordsman?" repeated Hawke in awe, "So that's your dream?"

"Yes," said Zoro.

"Does every crew member have a dream like that?" asked Hawke.

"Well, Nami wants to draw a map of the world," said Zoro, "That cook wants to find the All Blue, Usopp wants to be a brave warrior and Luffy wants to be the Pirate King."

Hawke laughed.

"This crew is so amazing," she sighed, "I'm not sure if I'll fit in."

"What do you mean?" asked Zoro.

"Well, you're all so dedicated to yourselves as well as to Luffy," said Hawke, "I mean, I will follow Luffy to the ends of the earth and lay down my life for him without question-"

Zoro smiled.

"- but I don't have a great goal like all of you."

"Don't you want to destroy that pearl thing?" pointed out Zoro.

"Well, yes I do," said Hawke, "But that isn't a life goal. Destroying something shouldn't be anyone's life goal."

Zoro looked at Hawke. She was wrapped up in the blanket he had brought her and was gazing out at the ocean, deep in thought. He felt his heart start to race again and quickly looked down at his feet.

"Back in the galley," he started, "Why did you get so upset when you learned that Luffy hadn't left your island?"

Hawke sighed and pulled the blanket in tighter.

"I was over reacting," she said, "At first I was angry that I'd gone through all that I did for no reason. But then I realized that this was the way things were meant to be, so I shouldn't have gotten upset."

Zoro blinked. He was surprised at how mature Hawke was. She seemed to understand the ways of the world; maybe that's because she had suffered.

"What did you go through?" he asked, adjusting his swords.

Hawke looked over at him.

"I know you're trustworthy, according to Luffy, but that doesn't mean that I fully trust you guys yet."

Zoro shrugged.

"Well, you'll tell us when you're ready I guess," he muttered.

They sat in silence for a long while. Hawke was just about to open her mouth, but the swordsman spoke first.

"You said that you were good with a sword."

Hawke looked up, startled.

"Well, yes," she stammered, "But I'm nowhere near as good as you are, Zoro."

"Come on," said Zoro, standing up, "Show me what you can do."

Hawke looked up at him. Zoro smiled. Hawkes eyes lit up and the colour rose in her cheeks. She quickly stood up.

"Alright then," she said.

She jumped out of the crows' nest and onto the sail. Zoro was impressed by her agility.

"There's more room out here after all," said Hawke smiling.

She reached into her jacket and pulled out two black, gold guilded throwing knives.

"Those are of good quality," noted Zoro as he drew a sword.

Hawked smiled.

"I'm not using these," she said, dropping them into the crows' nest.

She reached into her jacket for a second time. Zoro watched as she fiddled around with something. Her hand was reaching behind her back. This confused him. After a few more moments, Hawke withdrew her hand and brought out a full sized sword.

"What!?" exclaimed Zoro, "Where were you keeping that?"

Hawke smiled and gave him puppy eyes.

"It's a secret Master Swordsman," she said.

Zoro blushed and looked away.

"Just hurry up and start fighting then," he snapped.

Hawke gave him a questioning look and unsheathed her sword.

They stood facing each other on the sail, the moonlight making everything look sharp. Hawke readied her stance and Zoro did the same.

Hawke sprang forward and swung at Zoro. He deflected her stroke and lunged forward. Hawke dodged his attack and jumped over him. Zoro spun around and sliced his sword through the air. Hawke blocked his sword with hers and sparks flew from the blades as they made contact.

"You have some skill," admitted Zoro, stepping back, "My first attack usually cuts down any marine."

Hawke blushed.

"That's a great compliment coming from you," she said, "Thank you."

"Don't underestimate yourself, Hawke," said Zoro and he launched his next attack.

Hawke seemed to be temporarily stunned, but she blocked his swing and parried, putting him off balance. While Zoro regained his footing, Hawke swept up and went for his chest with her blade. Zoro just managed to block her, but he used his weight to push her away. She stumbled back and flailed her arms. There's my opening, thought Zoro, and he placed the tip of his sword on her chest.

"I win," he stated.

Hawke stood there panting. She stepped back and smiled, sheathing her sword.

"I knew you were really good," she said, "Luffy has a way of finding the best people."

Zoro smiled.

"Well what does that say about you then?"

Hawke blushed and looked down.

"We were just children. Playing games and having fun all day. We were the best of friends though, if that's what you mean. He never chose me…" she smiled and climbed back into the crows' nest.

Zoro smiled at her back.

"Isn't it about time for you to go to bed?" she said, looking back towards Zoro, who was still standing out on the sail.

Zoro sheathed his sword and walked over to the ladder.

"Yeah, I guess it is," he said as he started to descend.

Then he stopped.

"Hawke," he started.

"Yeah, Zoro?" Hawke leaned out over the edge to look down at him.

"I think you'll fit right in with the crew," he paused, looking up at her, "… be safe… tonight."

Hawke blushed.

"Are all the men on this crew so polite?" she laughed.

"Only to the people who deserve it," replied Zoro as he resumed his descent.

Hawke watched as he entered the ship and closed the door.

She sat back down and rearranged the blanket around her. It was really nice of him to bring me this, she thought as the snow started to fall more thickly.

She decided that she liked Zoro. He seemed to be very dedicated to his captain, but also concerned with the wellbeing of the rest of the crew. Plus he was really sweet, she thought and blushed at the snowflakes. Sure he was snappy sometimes, but she could tell that he had a really caring heart. It had thrown her off when he had used her name while they were fighting. For some reason she lost her focus when he'd said it and had just barely managed to block his attack.

Maybe you're just not used to being around so many people, she thought as she settled her gaze towards the sea.

Zoro swung into his hammock and settled down for the night.

"Why are you so late getting down here?" asked Sanji, "I hope you weren't annoying Hawke-san."

"Shut it you half-bit cook," snapped Zoro.

He paused and rolled over to face Sanji.

"Oi, cook," he said, "Keep your distance from Hawke."

Sanji looked shocked but said nothing.

"I'm only going to warn you this once," finished the swordsman as he rolled back over to face the wall.

Sanji stared at Zoros back for a few moments before settling back down.

I wonder what that was about? thought the cook.

Zoro was staring at the wall. He had just confirmed his fears.

He had feelings for Hawke.

He tried to make sense of all the thoughts swirling around in his head.

He knew that she felt the same way towards Luffy as he did, which was good. He needed someone else to understand his dedication to his captain and his training. Someone who could understand that could understand what kind of relationship he could handle.

He could tell that she had been through tremendous suffering. He would wait until she was ready to tell that part of her story.

He was glad that she was quite capable with a sword. He didn't need to be afraid of constantly having to protect her in a battle, she could defend herself, she was strong.

But he did want to know what that scientist had done to her. Maybe that's why she is so light, he thought. Maybe he took her bones out and replaced them with something else. Zoro clenched his fist. He couldn't stand the thought of Hawke undergoing any sort of torture.

I wonder if she would ever dance for us, he thought and blushed at the wall. Don't be thinking like that, he scolded himself and closed his eyes, ready for sleep.

Damn, he thought, I've got myself into a mess here.


	5. Chapter 5: The Going Merry's New Scout

**Chapter 5**

**The Going Merry's New Scout**

By morning, the snow had disappeared and the sky was clear again. The sun had already risen when the crew started to emerge from the ship.

"Hawke," Nami called up to the crows' nest, "Are you awake?"

"I'll wake up Hawke-san!" swooned Sanji and he sped up the mast.

Zoro and Usopp came onto the deck.

~ Usopp walked over to the edge of the ship.

"Huh?" he grunted, "Hey guys, what are these?"

Nami joined Usopp at the rail. Usopp was pointing to the water.

"What is that?" asked Nami.

~ Meanwhile, Sanji had made it up to the crows' nest and leaned in.

"Oh Hawke-san, my lovely," he cooed, "It's morning."

Hawke was sleeping on her side on the floor of the basket. The blanket was covering her shoulder but had fallen off her legs and waist.

"Wooooaaahh!" yelled Sanji, "She's a sleeping angel!"

"Hey cook!" shouted Zoro from the deck, "What are you doing?"

Sanji looked down. Oh right, he thought.

"Just waking up Hawke-san," he called down.

"Get your ass down here you curly freak!" shouted Zoro.

"Why don't you come up here and make me you Marimo!" returned Sanji.

All the shouting brought Hawke out of her slumber and she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Is it morning already?" she yawned.

"Hawke-chwan," cooed Sanji, hanging onto the edge of the basket, "I'll go and make breakfast for you and Nami-san."

"That sounds wonderful Sanji," smiled Hawke, "I brought you some stuff that might be useful."

"Huh?" questioned Sanji.

Hawke got out of the crows' nest and followed the cook down to the deck.

"Last night I spotted an island that wasn't too far away," she said, "I went over and found some fruits and a couple of wild pigs, so I brought some back and put them in the kitchen."

"An island?!" came a voice from behind them, "Where?! Let's go!"

Luffy had finally come up on deck.

Hawke laughed and walked over to the rail.

"Over there," she said, pointing into the distance.

"I don't see anything," muttered Luffy, shading his eyes.

"It's right there, on the horizon," insisted Hawke.

"I don't see anything either," said Zoro, coming up beside her.

"What?" said Hawke, "Hey, Nami, Usopp, come over here and look at this island."

The two came around to their side of the ship.

"Hawke?" asked Nami, "Why is our row boat full of fruit?"

Hawkes eyes widened.

"Oh, I forgot about those," she said, then shrugged her shoulders, "But they should be fine. Come here and tell me you can see that island over there."

Nami and Usopp joined the group at the railing.

"No," said Nami finally, "I can't see anything there. Hang on, I'll go check the charts."

Nami left and went into her room. Usopp was still squinting at the horizon. He took the goggles on his head and put them on, twisting them into focus.

"I can see something out there," he said, "But it's only a speck and I'm at my highest magnification."

Nami came back down.

"She's right," said Nami, holding up a sea chart, "There's an island near us in that direction."

She traced the distance from their location to the island.

"But that's way too far a distance to be able to be seen," she muttered, rolling up her charts, "You must have amazing eyesight. There's no way I could see anything that far away."

"So there is an island over there?" asked Luffy, "Great, let's go explore it!"

Hawke laughed.

"There isn't anything there, Luffy," she said, "Just some fruit trees and pigs."

"Pigs!" shouted Luffy, "Let's go catch one and eat it!"

Hawke laughed again.

"I already did," she smiled, "Sanji is making breakfast with them right now."

"Breakfast! Food!" shouted Luffy and ran into the ship.

"You went all the way to that island and back last night?" asked Zoro, "How?"

"Well…," hesitated Hawke, "I… used the row boat."

"Hmm," grunted Zoro, raising his eyebrow.

"Speaking of the rowboat," interjected Usopp, "It's full of fruit things."

"Oh, right," Hawke started and turned to Zoro, "You like sake right?"

"Yeah, I do," said Zoro.

"Okay good," said Hawke, "Then come over here."

She led the way to the other side of the ship.

The rowboat was floating in the water near the back of the ship. There were many pine-apple-like fruits sitting in the boat. It looked like their tops had been cut off.

"What are those?" asked Zoro

"These-," said Hawke, jumping into the rowboat, "- are Tropo fruits; special fruits that produce alcohol."

"Really?" said Zoro, leaning on the railing, sounding impressed.

"Yep," replied Hawke, grabbing one and climbing back onto the ship, "You just have to let them air out a bit and the outer peel hardens while the innards liquefy."

She handed Zoro the fruit.

~Nami looked over at them and nudged Usopp.

~"You can drink out of it like a mug," Hawke was saying.

Zoro looked at the fruit then shrugged and took a large swig.

"Wow!" he spluttered after he had swallowed, "That tastes almost like real sake, it's really good."

Hawke smiled.

"I thought you'd like it. And seeing as the ships stores are getting low…"

"Thanks, Hawke," smiled Zoro, taking another swig, "How did you know how to do this?"

Hawke jumped back into the rowboat and gathered the remaining fruits.

"The marines taught me," she said, "Here, catch!"

She threw the fruits, one by one, over to Zoro

"Really?" said Zoro, "I find that hard to believe."

He caught each fruit as it came over the railing and put it on the deck.

Hawke laughed and climbed back onto the ship, she picked up the fruits.

"Well they aren't allowed to bring alcohol onto the navy ships, so they have to make do with what they find when they're out at sea."

"Makes sense I guess," said Zoro, draining his fruit.

"I'll put these in the fridge so they keep for a while," said Hawke, she headed towards the kitchen with the remaining fruits in her arms.

"Here, wait," called Zoro, coming after her, "Let me carry some of those."

He took the fruits from her.

Hawke smiled.

"Thanks Zoro," she said and followed him into the kitchen.

~ Usopp and Nami exchanged looks as they stood on the deck.

"Something's wrong with Zoro," muttered Usopp, "He would never ask to help me or you with carrying things."

"Isn't it obvious," whispered Nami.

"Huh?" Usopp's face was blank, "Is he sick? Is it contagious?"

Nami laughed.

"Well if you can't see it, I'm not telling you," she said, "But don't worry, it's not contagious," she reassured Usopp, who had started to make a mask out of his shirt.

"Oh, that's a relief," he said, letting his shirt drop, "Well I hope he gets over it soon, he's freaking me out."

Nami laughed and made her way into the kitchen, where Sanji had finished making breakfast.

"Woah, Hawke-san," Sanji was cooing, "So you could see an island that not even Usopp could see with his goggles? Your eyes must be miraculous as well as gorgeous!"

Zoro shot him a death glare.

"Er-," corrected Sanji, "I mean, you must have amazing eye sight. You would make a good scout."

"Huh? Scout?" said Luffy through a mouth full of bacon, "Yeah, we need a scout on our crew! Hawke, you're our scout!"

"Oh," Hawke looked surprised, then she blushed and smiled, "Of course Luffy. I'd love to be the Merry's scout."

"Woohoo!" shouted Luffy, showering Hawke with bacon pieces, "Scout! Scout! Scout! Hawke is the scout!"

"Quiet down Luffy," said Sanji, "You're spitting food all over Hawke-san."

"It's okay," said Hawke and she started wiping the food off her clothes.

"Here," snapped Zoro, holding out a napkin.

"Oh, thank you," smiled Hawke and took the napkin.

She had just finished cleaning herself up when Usopp joined the crew and they all sat down for breakfast.

"Mmm, I'm sure glad you got this pig, Hawke," spluttered Usopp through a mouthful, "I haven't had bacon in forever."

"It was no problem Usopp," smiled Hawke as she scooped some of the food in question onto her plate.

"There's a lot of meat so everybody have seconds," called Sanji from the kitchen, "Hawke-san, you have wonderful aim."

"Hmm?" Hawke wasn't quite sure what he was talking about.

"All the pigs were killed with a shot through their ear," explained Sanji, coming to the table, "None of the good meat was spoiled."

"Oh yes," said Hawke, "A shot through the brain kills instantly, so they don't have to suffer."

"Hawke," slobbered Luffy, "You should catch birds that fly over the ship. Then we can have bird steak!"

"You can't make steaks out of bird meat," said Sanji and knocked Luffy on the head, making him choke on his mouthful and swell up his throat to get the food down.

This made everyone laugh.

"And besides," giggled Hawke, "Birds are the one animal I won't kill, especially for eating."

"Huh?" spluttered Luffy, "Why not?"

"I have a … respect for birds," said Hawke, "And I'd appreciate it if no one shot them down to eat them."

"Okay," sighed Luffy, pouting.

"So," said Hawke, turning to Nami, "How long until we reach the Red Line, navigator?"

Nami finished her fruit salad and put down her fork.

"Well, we still have quite a ways to go," she said, "I'd say about a week and a half, even if we stay on course."

"That's so long!" whined Luffy and dropped his head onto the table.

"That's the fastest we can get there," snapped Nami.

Luffy sighed very loudly.

"Hawke!" he shouted suddenly, jumping up, "Let's go train!"

"Let me finish my breakfast Luffy," Hawke laughed, "But sure, why not."

"Hurray!" cheered Luffy, "I'm going to get ready."

He ran out onto the deck.

Hawke scooped up the last of her fruit.

"Would you mind having an audience for your training session?" asked Zoro.

He had already finished his breakfast and was just sitting there.

"Sure," smiled Hawke, "I'm part of the crew now, so you should know how I fight."

Zoro nodded and made his way out to the deck, following Luffy.

"Wait a second Hawke-san," called Sanji as Hawke got up from the table, "You're using knives right? Luffy is susceptible to piercing attacks."

Hawke smiled.

"I know," she said, "When Luffy and I train, I use the handles of my knives instead of the blades, and he never hits me, he tries to pin me down."

"Oh okay," said Sanji, sounding reassured, "But if he scratches you he will regret it."

"Oh don't worry Sanji," laughed Hawke, heading for the door, "Luffy hasn't managed to pin me yet."


	6. Chapter 6: The Training Session

**Chapter 6**

**The Training Session**

Hawke exited the kitchen and stood on the deck.

Zoro was sitting by the railing again, where he had been sleeping the day before. But Luffy was nowhere to be seen.

Hawke reached into her jacket and pulled out two of her black knives. She scanned the deck and moved to the bottom of the stairs, no one. She looked up to the back of the ship; there was no one there either. She looked back to the deck and this time her gaze went up the mast.

"Hawke!" called a voice.

Luffy was standing on the crows' nest.

"There you are," Hawke called back.

Luffy grabbed onto the crows' nest edge and stretched his arms back, making himself into a catapult.

"I'll go first," he shouted and shot himself down towards Hawke.

Hawke took a step to the side and Luffy crashed into the deck.

"You still need to be more accurate Luffy," she called as she ran across the deck and positioned herself by the mast.

Aiming her first knife, she threw it towards one of Luffy's arms, which was still somewhat stretched, lying on the deck. She heard Zoro's swords clink together as he tensed.

Luffy unstretched his arm and the knife missed him. The handle hit the back wall, bouncing off and onto the deck.

"I'm faster now than I was then," said Luffy and stretched his arm back, "Gum Gum Bullet!"

He launched his punch at Hawke.

She jumped aside and let Luffy's arm fly past her. Then she jumped into the air and threw her other knife at Luffy's rapidly vanishing fist.

The hilt hit his wrist and knocked the punch off center, causing Luffy to lose his control.

Hawke then kicked Luffy's arm, which was still extending past her. The kick made Luffy's arm bounce off the mast, while his fist was still flying off course.

Luffy started to pull his arm back in. As his fist passed Hawke again, she drew three more knives from her coat. She launched them all at Luffy's fist. The first knife knocked Luffy's arm against the mast. The second and third knives landed blade down in the mast.

"Ha!" shouted Luffy, "You missed!"

Hawke smiled and she took out one more knife from her jacket.

Luffy paused.

"Hey, I can't move my arm?!" he exclaimed.

He looked towards the mast. His arm was stuck to it. He couldn't pull his arm away from the wood.

Hawke aimed her knife.

"You're still slower than me," she taunted as she threw it.

The knife spun through the air and hit Luffy right between the eyes, hilt first.

"Ouch!" cried Luffy, rubbing his head with his free hand, "That hurt!"

"I win!" laughed Hawke.

Zoro stood up.

"That knife should have bounced off Luffy," he said, coming over, "Why didn't it?"

Hawke smiled and picked up the knives that had fallen onto the deck and put them back in her jacket.

"These throwing knives were a gift from the marines that adopted me," she said.

She held out one and showed it to Luffy and Zoro.

The entire blade was black. And the hilt had gold filigree decorating the handle.

"They are made of very strong steel and coated with a special resin," she said, "But the reason they could hit Luffy, was that they contain pieces of sea prism stone at the tip of the blade and the end of the hilt," explained Hawke.

"Sea prism stone?" repeated Luffy.

"Yes," confirmed Hawke, "This stone drains a devil fruit users' power. Weapons that have them are able to hit any devil fruit user, even Logia types."

"Hmm," muttered Luffy, looking closely at the knife, "So it's a mystery stone..."

Zoro hit him on the head.

"Don't be stupid about this Luffy," he cautioned, "It's good that Hawke let us know about this type of stone. The Grand Line will probably be full of it, so your devil fruit powers will be in constant jeopardy."

Luffy stepped back and nodded.

Nami and Sanji came out on deck.

"Luffy," said Nami, pointing her finger, "Why is your arm stuck to the mast?"

"Oh right!" laughed Luffy, "Hawke what did you do?"

They walked over to the mast and looked at Luffy's arm.

The two knives that Luffy had thought had missed him were embedded, blade down, into the mast. But the angle at which they had landed had trapped Luffy's arm.

One had hit above Luffy's arm and was angled with the hilt downward. The other had landed under his arm and was angled up and across, immobilizing him.

"That's pretty clever," said Nami, "Luffy wouldn't be able to use that arm to fight, giving you a huge advantage."

"That was the plan," laughed Hawke as she removed the knives and freed Luffy's arm.

"That's a good way to fight," put in Zoro," "Using your wits as well as your weapons."

"Thanks," smiled Hawke.

"Don't worry," said Luffy, bringing his arm back to normal, "I'll get strong enough to beat you one day!"

Hawke laughed.

"As long as you can protect me, you don't have to be able to beat me," she told Luffy, "And now I know that I can have your back in a fight."

Luffy smiled.

"Now our crew is even better!" he shouted.

"Hey Luffy," said Sanji, "Stop shouting at the sky and start finding fish for lunch."

"Okay Sanji, Usopp will help," said Luffy, and he ran off to find his fishing rod.

"You're pretty capable," said Zoro, leaning against the railing.

"Well I've been training all my life," said Hawke.

"It's good that you're not a weak fighter like Nami or a coward like Usopp," Zoro continued, "The crew can depend on you."

Hawke blushed.

"You're so sweet Zoro," she said.

Zoro stiffened.

"What? I was just saying you were a good fighter, how is that sweet?" he stammered, turning away and facing the sea.

"Hawke-swan!" swooned Sanji, "You look so cute when you're embarrassed."

Zoro gave Sanji a death glare.

"I'm just always rendered helpless in the presence of a beautiful woman," sighed Sanji, "So cute, so cute, so cute…" he repeated as he wandered back into the ship.

"He's very sweet," sighed Hawke, looking after Sanji, "But does he always embarrass himself like this?"

"He's just a stupid pervert," snapped Zoro, taking out one of his swords and slicing the air, "I need to go train."


	7. Chapter 7: The Secret Revealed

**Chapter 7**

**The Secret Revealed: A New Adventure Begins**

The next day was hotter than usual.

Usopp was lying on the deck with a damp cloth over his eyes.

"I think I've caught the too-much-sun disease," he panted, "I might die."

"Oh, shut up Usopp," said Nami, "It isn't that hot out."

"You're one to talk," whined Usopp, "You're wearing a bikini. It's not fair."

"Well then take off your shirt or something," snapped Nami as she settled back into her lawn chair.

She looked at the empty chair beside her.

"I wonder what's taking Hawke so long?" she said, looking towards the closed door of her room.

"Hmm?" said Zoro, snapping out of his nap, "What's Hawke doing?"

Nami looked over at him.

"You'll enjoy this Zoro," she laughed, "I finally convinced Hawke to put on a bathing suit."

Nami watched as Zoro's face paled and then turned bright red.

"A… bathing suit…?" he stammered.

Usopp sat up.

"Like, a bikini bathing suit or an old lady bathing suit?" asked Usopp

Zoro's face darkened and he towered over his crewmate.

"What does it matter Usopp?" he said threateningly.

"Woah, woah, calm down Zoro," whimpered Usopp, "I was just a bit excited at seeing Hawke in a bathing suit, aren't you?"

Zoro stalked away and sat down.

"That wasn't the point," he muttered.

Nami was enjoying this very much. She decided to tease Zoro even more.

"Oh Sanji," she called, watching Zoro.

Zoro stiffened and raised his eyes to look at Nami. She thought he was going to kill her.

"Don't you dare," he breathed.

"But its so fun watching you get so worked up," pouted Nami, but she didn't call Sanji again.

"What? Who said I'm getting worked up?" snapped Zoro and he sat back down and closed his eyes.

After a few moments, Nami got up.

"I'm going to go see if anything's wrong," she said, "I was sure that I gave her the right size."

Zoro opened one eye, then closed it again.

Usopp was still lying on the deck.

"Hey, Luffy," said Usopp, "How did you and Hawke meet?"

Luffy was draped over the railing and had his tongue out like a dog.

"It's too hot," he panted and rolled off onto the deck.

"Hawke washed up to my village in a boat," started Luffy, sitting up, "She was all alone and so the bar lady, Makino, took her in to live with her. That was the same lady who was taking care of me too, so we grew up together."

"Sounds to me like you guys are brother and sister," said Usopp.

Luffy laughed.

"I do think of her as my little sister, even if she doesn't want me too," he said, "It would be nice to have a little sister, but Hawke doesn't think so."

Zoro opened his eyes again and smiled.

"So you have a little sister then," he said.

Luffy laughed.

"Yeah, just don't tell her."

Just then the door to Nami's room opened.

All three men sat up and turned their heads.

Nami emerged first. She looked serious and met each of the crew's gaze before she came and sat back down in her lawn chair.

Hawke came out after Nami.

Her eyes were a bit puffy and red, like she had been crying. But she stood tall and came down to the deck.

She was wearing one of Nami's bikinis. The top and bottom were a matching purple and the bottoms flared out as a skirt.

Hawke seemed very self-conscious and kept moving her arms and hands, like she didn't know where to put them.

Nami watched as Zoro stood up. His face was a bit flushed, but not as red as before.

"Hawke," he said, she looked up at him, her head was slightly bowed, "You shouldn't be embarrassed."

Hawke blushed and quickly sat down on her chair, pressing her back into it. Nami gave a little cough. Hawke looked at her and sat up a little. Nami smiled encouragingly.

Usopp lifted the cloth from his eyes.

"Woah Hawke!" he exclaimed, "You wear that leather jacket all the time. I never knew you were so curvy!"

Zoro walked over and slammed the hilt of his sword onto Usopp's head.

"Show some respect you idiot," he seethed.

"I'm sorry, Zoro," said Usopp into the floor, "I won't tell Hawke she's sexy ever again."

Zoro kicked him.

"What did I just tell you!"

There was a sudden crash from the kitchen.

Zoro turned.

"Not you, you damn cook!" he shouted.

But it was too late.

Sanji had leapt over to where Hawke was sitting and had taken her hand. Kneeling in front of her, he was looking her up and down.

"Hawke-swan!" he cried, "Your beauty is unparalleled! You have the body of a goddess."

"Stay away from her you pervert!" shouted Zoro.

Sanji was still moving his eyes up and down Hawkes figure.

"So curvy!" he exclaimed, "So round! So bouncy!"

Hawke covered herself with her hands.

"Please stop that Sanji," she said, turning her face away, "You're embarrassing me, I don't like it."

Sanji froze. He fell to his knees and started hitting his fists against the ground.

"I'm such a despicable human being," he cried, "I'm so vulgar when it comes to beauty! Now I've made Hawke-san angry with me."

"Yes," snapped Nami, waving her hand, "She is angry with you. Now go sit over there."

Sanji crawled away, crying.

"But I wasn't really angry with him," Hawke whispered to Nami, "He was just making me uncomfortable."

"Same thing," said Nami, dismissing Hawke's concerns with another wave of her hand, "He was being a nuisance. Now didn't you have something to show everyone?"

Hawke shrank a little.

"Huh?" said Zoro, sheathing his sword, which he had taken out before Nami had told Sanji to get lost, "Show us something?"

Hawke stood up again.

Zoro couldn't help checking her out. She was curvier than he had expected. Her form had always been hidden by her leather jacket.

Hawke didn't notice though, she was looking at the floor.

After an awkward silence, she took a breath.

"Can I tell you what that scientist did to me?" she asked in a shaky voice.

Zoro's heart started to beat harder.

"Are you sure?" asked Usopp.

Hawke held up her pearl necklace, which was still around her neck.

"This pearl used to be a liquid," she started, "It was used on me, on my skin. And it has a very special ability... I know for a fact that this is the only bit of formula in the world and all the instructions on how to make it have been burned away. All I have to do is destroy this last piece of evidence and no one will ever have to be put through the torture that I had to go through-," she stopped and shivered.

"Oi, Hawke?" asked Luffy, he had come up behind her, "What's this on your back?"

Hawke visibly winced.

"On her back?" asked Zoro.

Hawke clenched her fists and turned around so that her back was facing the crew.

"This is what I wanted to show you," she said, "These are my scars."

Zoro's eyes widened at what he saw, Usopp gawked and Sanji gasped.

Her back was covered in what looked like a black tattoo.

Two wings, starting in the middle of her shoulder blades and reaching up to her shoulders, went down the sides of her back, with their tips ending right where her skirt began.

"Wings?!" Sanji asked in awe.

Hawke was facing Luffy, but she spoke loudly enough for the whole crew to hear.

"Every drop of the formula pierces you to the bone. It hurts like no pain you can ever imagine-" tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"- and the scientist strapped me down and put drop after drop onto my back. He would keep going until I would pass out from the pain, only then would he stop. He said that I had to be conscious for it to work properly. He waited until I woke up again and then started reapplying it right away. I didn't eat for weeks and I lost my voice from screaming-" her voice was coming out in sobs now.

"- it took him a month to finish both sides. Near the end I could only stand three or four drops until the pain became overwhelming. When he finished applying the formula, I thought that the pain would be over, but then the wings had to make themselves a part of my body. My whole bone structure was altered. It felt like I was being stretch out by giants until I would break. He left me in my room for two weeks while the process completed itself."

Hawke had fallen to her knees and was sobbing so hard that she couldn't continue speaking. Nami got up and put a hand on her shoulders.

"There, see?" she was saying comfortingly to Hawke, "It's all out now, it's over, you don't have to repeat it ever again."

The rest of the crew was standing around the two girls. Zoro and Luffy had clenched fists and expressions of pain on their faces. Usopp was looking at Hawke and understanding why she had been so reluctant to share her story. Sanji was still on his knees, but his eyes were fixed on Hawke and he kept staring in disbelief.

"So this was the torture you went through?" Luffy finally broke the silence.

Hawke raised her head. She had stopped sobbing but tears were still streaming down her face.

"Mhmm," she nodded.

Then she saw the look in Luffy's eyes. She lunged out and grabbed his hand.

"Luffy," she cried, "Please promise me that you won't go after that man. Any of you," she added, looking over her shoulder at the crew.

There was silence again. Zoro tensed.

"You can't just expect us to do nothing to a man who put you through hell for his own pleasure!" snapped Zoro, his voice dripping with hatred.

"No!" cried Hawke again, still clenching Luffy's hand, "You have to promise me you won't go after him."

She stood up.

"He may have put me through hell," she said, her voice shaking, "But that's what was meant to be."

Zoro started and Luffy raised his head.

Hawke stood tall, the tears vanishing from her eyes. She met Luffy's gaze.

"What I went through made me who I am today. Without it, I would be a completely different person. I would be weak. Do not hunt down the man that made me stronger. Please, for me," she finished.

Luffy's eyes widened.

He unclenched his fists. Hawke noticed and she smiled.

"Thank you, Luffy," she said and held his hand in both of hers.

Zoro and Sanji, who had stood up, both took a step back.

They were amazed at Hawke. She had managed to _forgive_ the scientist. She was still smiling after all that she had gone through. She had asked them not to go after the man who had tortured her because he had made her stronger.

How could a person forgive anyone who had single handedly put them through so much suffering?

"She's actually forgiven him," said Sanji in astonishment.

"She is wiser than all of us," muttered Zoro, looking at the tattoo on Hawke's back.

He hesitated, and then spoke.

"Wings?" he asked.

Hawke stiffened and turned around.

"It isn't a total scar," she confessed, "Watch."

She climbed up and stood on the edge of the railing, her back to the sea.

"What are you doing?" asked Zoro, wary.

Hawke looked back at the crew.

"Watch," she said again.

Then she fell back.

"What!?" shouted Zoro, "Hawke!"

He sprang up and looked over the edge, followed by Sanji and Luffy.

Hawke wasn't in the water.

"I didn't hear a splash," said Nami, coming up with Usopp.

"Over here," they heard Hawke's voice.

"It came from the bow," said Sanji.

The crew ran up to the masthead.

Hawke was there, floating in the air, using two large black wings to keep herself aloft.

"What?!" shouted Luffy, "You can fly?! You have wings?!"

Everyone gaped at her.

"This is what the formula did to me," Hawke said as she turned around in the air to show them her back.

The tattooed wings were no longer on her skin. There were no marks on her back. But two black, feathered wings sprouted from between her shoulder blades.

"The tattoo became real?!" Usopp stammered in disbelief.

Hawke turned back around.

"Yes," she smiled and stepped onto the edge of the railing.

Zoro watched as the wings quickly shrank and disappeared behind her back. Hawke jumped back onto the deck. She turned her back towards the crew. It was covered by the tattooed wings again.

"That is what the formula does," said Hawke, "When it is put onto a person's skin, whatever is drawn with it will become real and a part of that person forever."

She lowered her eyes.

"I was his final test," she muttered, "There had been countless others before me. I found the records he kept of them."

Hawke wrapped her arms around herself.

"The things he drew on those poor people," she shuddered, her eyes wandering out to the ocean, "They either died from the transformation or killed themselves after, when they'd seen what they'd become."

Nami let out a shocked little gasp and raised her hand to cover her mouth.

Luffy, Zoro and Sanji just stood there, staring at her.

"Actually having wings isn't so bad," Hawke said, her eyes refocusing, "It's really fun and useful."

There was silence.

"So cool!" shouted Luffy and Usopp, "You can fly!"

Hawke smiled and looked relieved.

"That is really useful," said Nami, "And since it's not a devil fruit power, you can swim right?"

Hawke nodded.

"Yes and I can even use my wings under water to swim faster."

"So cool!" shouted Luffy again, "Take me for a ride!"

"So that explains why you're so light," said Zoro, "You must have hollow bones like a bird."

Hawke turned towards him. He was still staring at her, but she could see acceptance in his eyes.

She smiled.

"Yes, and that's also why I can see farther than you guys," she explained.

"And does this have something to do with why you can't eat birds?" asked Sanji.

Hawke nodded.

"I can talk to and understand them," she said, "So I really can't bring myself to hurt them."

"So cool!" gawked Usopp, "You can talk to birds!"

"And I'm guessing that you flew to that island the other day," said Zoro, "You didn't take the row boat."

Hawke lowered her eyes and nodded.

"Sorry for lying to you," she apologized.

"Don't worry about it," said Zoro, "I could tell you weren't telling the truth anyways."

Hawke blushed.

"I was never a good liar," she laughed.

"I can help you there," said Usopp, striking a pose, "I'm the greatest liar in the world."

"That's a lie," laughed Nami.

"Hawke!" shouted Luffy again, "Take me for a ride!"

Hawke laughed.

"Aye, aye Captain," she said.

"Yeah!" cried Luffy.

He wrapped each of his legs around Hawkes and his arms around her arms.

"Isn't that a little too close," muttered Zoro, glowering at Luffy.

"Alright Hawke," said Luffy, "Let's go!"

"Hang on tight," said Hawke as she brought out her wings again.

"Don't be too long," called Nami.

Hawke beat her wings and they were lifted off the deck.

"You're pretty light," Hawke told Luffy as they rose.

"Woah!" shouted Luffy, "Hey Usopp, you look so small from up here!"

Usopp waved.

Hawke flew out over the ocean.

"Hey, Luffy," she said.

"Yeah," came the reply.

"Thank you."

Luffy smiled.

"Don't mention it lil' sis," he said.

"I told you shouldn't call me call me that," warned Hawke, dipping towards the water.

"Hey, watch it," laughed Luffy.

"I'm not your little sister Luffy," said Hawke, zipping over the tops of the waves, "We don't share blood."

"Blood doesn't say who your family is" said Luffy, trying to grab a fish out of the water, "It's who you share your life with."

Hawke was silent.

"I have a big brother too," continued Luffy, "That's who I went to live with when Gramps took me away. But me and Ace don't have the same parents. So you're my little sister, even though we don't have the same parents."

Hawke's eyes widened.

"So, then…" Hawke paused, "Can you be my family?"

"Sure," laughed Luffy, "The Merry is our home now."

Luffy made another grab at a fish.

"Caught you!" he shouted.

"Easy Luffy," laughed Hawke, "I don't want to drop you."

Her heart was soaring higher than she could ever fly. She had a brother, two by the sounds of it, a family!

Hawke soared back into the air and scanned the horizon for the Going Merry.

"Wow, we're so far away already," said Luffy, shading his eyes.

"Yes, the wind is faster than the water," smiled Hawke.

She spotted the ship and set off towards it.

"Look Sanji, I caught a fish right out of the water," Luffy unwound himself from Hawke and held out the fish.

"That's a nice size," said Sanji, examining the fish.

He turned his attention to Hawke.

"Hawke-san! May I have a ride too!" he swooned.

"No Sanji," said Luffy.

Sanji looked taken aback. The rest of the crew looked stunned.

"You have to cook this fish," commanded the captain.

Everyone relaxed.

"Oh, he was thinking about the fish," sighed Usopp.

Sanji took the fish and headed to the kitchen, sulking.

"The water is really calm today," said Zoro, looking out to sea.

Hawke came up beside him.

"It's beautiful, like a mirror," she said, looking down into the water.

Zoro looked down at her. She was still wearing her bathing suit.

"Yeah," he said.

Hawke noticed his glance and blushed.

"I'm glad I don't have to hide it from you guys anymore," she said, motioning to her back.

"You never did, you know," said Zoro, "We would have accepted you no matter what since you're Luffy's sis- uh, I mean friend."

Hawke giggled, then sighed and looked out at the sea.

"It's okay. I've decided Luffy is my big brother," she said, "I feel like I'm home."

Zoro smiled.

"Welcome to the crew," he said.

Hawke met his gaze and smiled.

"Thank you," she said.

Zoro blushed and scratched the back of his head.

"Zoro?" began Hawke, looking down at the waves.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could help me train my one-sword style?" she asked.

"Sure," said Zoro, "As long as you can keep up with me."

Hawke turned to face him and stood as tall as she could.

"I know I can," she stated, a determined look on her face, extending her hand.

Zoro laughed.

"Alright then," he said, taking Hawke's outstretched hand and shaking it.

"Okay," smiled Hawke.

Zoro yawned.

"I think I'll have a nap," he muttered.

Zoro sat with his back leaning against the rail, his arms crossed behind his head.

Hawke smiled.

She made to go back to the lawn chair, but cast a glance at the horizon ad stopped short.

"What is that?" she asked, leaning out over the railing, straining and squinting.

"Huh?" asked Nami as she came up to the rail, "What do you see?"

"Just a second," mumbled Hawke.

She spread her wings and flew up to the crow's nest.

"I can see a big flock of birds," she called down, "They seem to be circling something… I can't make it out."

Sanji came out on deck.

"They say birds often flock around schools of fish that swim close to the surface," said the cook, lighting a cigarette.

"Fish!" exclaimed Luffy, running up to the bow, "I'll get it."

He stretched his arm way back and shot it out over the water.

Hawke watched his hand approach the flock.

"Got it!" Luffy shouted and started pulling his arm back.

"Oi, oi!" exclaimed Sanji, "Watch it!"

Luffy's arm wasn't quite unstretched by the time his hand got to the Merry. His fist kept flying backwards with the momentum and hit Zoro where he had been napping, flinging him out over the deck and into the sea.

"Oh, sorry Zoro," Luffy mumbled.

"I'll get him," sighed Usopp.

He threw a grappling hook and dragged Zoro up on deck with it.

"I'll kill him," Zoro panted as he lay on his back.

Hawke giggled and flew back down to the deck.

The crew gathered around what Luffy had picked up.

"Well, that's not a fish," said Sanji.

They had caught a small girl in a yellowy-brown robe and tall, white hat.

"She doesn't look to good," said Nami, "Let's get her into the kitchen."


	8. Chapter 8: To Gunkka Island!

**Chapter 8**

**Apis' Arrival: To Gunkka Island**

Hawke was up in the crow's nest, gazing, unseeing, at the horizon.

So much had happened within the past few days. She had found her long lost friend, and then had that friend turn into her brother.

While she had had guardians throughout her life, like Makino or the marine couple, she had never felt quite as comfortable with them as she did when she was with Luffy. He had been the one to make her laugh and the one who had gotten her in and out of mischief. Luffy had been the one who'd try to bandage her hands when she first started knife throwing. He had done an awful job, but it had made Hawke so happy.

She smiled and felt a tear slid down her cheek. She was the little sister of Monkey D. Luffy! And Ace! She wondered when she would meet her other brother.

Hawke made a mental note to ask Luffy more about Ace.

Just then, Hawke was pulled out of her reverie by a commotion in the galley.

"I wonder what that's all about?" she muttered as she flew down to the deck and made her way to the cabin.

She was met with a very amusing scene.

The girl they had rescued earlier seemed to have woken up. She was sitting bolt upright and was staring in horror at Usopp.

The sniper was lying on the floor, holding his nose and whimpering in pain.

"I did that?" the little girl asked shakily.

"Don't feel bad," said Nami warmly.

"You're so mean, Nami," mumbled Usopp.

Hawke let out a giggle.

The girl turned to see what had made the sound and froze again. Her expression of horror returned.

"What is with her?" Zoro snapped.

"I think she just noticed how many of us we in her," said Hawke as she closed the door behind her.

She approached the girl.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Umm…," the girl mumbled.

The crew stared at the girl, the girl stared at them.

"This is boring!" exclaimed Luffy, jumping up, "Let's go find some treasure! Or meat! Let's find meat!"

"Treasure..?" the girl looked at Luffy, then her eyes widened, "You guys are pirates?!"

"Yeah," said Luffy, looking down at her.

The girl stared at him for a few moments, the she fell back onto the bed.

"Is she okay?" asked Usopp.

Hawke bent over the little girl.

"She's fainted," she said, pulling the covers over her, "Let's let her rest some more."

The girl slept the rest of the day and the crew went to sleep when the sun fell below the horizon.

Hawke was taking a cat nap up on the sail, leaning against the crow's nest.

She didn't wake when Luffy tried to raid the fridge, but when Sanji turned on the light in the kitchen and started moving the dishes around, she was roused from her sleep.

It seems that everyone had been woken. When Hawke got down to the kitchen, the rest of the crew was already there.

"Not exactly how you pictured us is it?" Nami was telling the girl.

The girl shook her head.

Hawke noticed the dishes on the table.

"Got hungry?" she smiled at the girl.

"This is Apis-san," said Sanji, handing Hawke a cup of tea.

"It's very nice to meet you," said Hawke, greeting Apis.

Apis blinked.

"It's nice to meet you too," she mumbled at her hands.

"What's with the long face?" asked Nami, "Is there somewhere you need to go?"

Apis looked up, her eyes smiling.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, "Are you really going to take me home?!"

"Well where are you from?" laughed the navigator.

"Gunkka Island!" cried Apis.

NAmi consulted her charts.

"Well that's not the far from here," she said, glancing over to Luffy, "What do you say, Captain?"

Luffy looked down at Apis' expectant face.

"Sure, why not!" he smiled.

"Thank you!" cried Apis.

"Alright, my lady," said Sanji, "I think it's time we all went back to bed."

"Okay," said the little girl, rubbing her eyes.

The crew went back to their beds and settled back down for the rest of the night.


	9. Chapter 9: An Unexpected Delay

**Chapter 9**

**An Unexpected Delay: The Sea Kings Breeding Grounds**

The next day, the Strawhats turned their heading towards Gunkka Island.

Almost immediately, however, they were set upon by the Marines.

"Watch out!" shouted Hawke from the crow's nest, "They're coming up fast!"

"There's no way we can stay ahead of them like this," said Nami, glancing worriedly behind them.

"Incoming fire!" yelled Hawke.

Four cannon balls were launched at the Merry. Luffy jumped up, inflated himself and deflected one. Zoro and Sanji both destroyed one each.

"Watch out!" screamed Nami, as the fourth fell towards the deck.

Hawke jumped out of the crow's nest and retrieved her sword from under her jacket. She sliced through the cannon ball, jumped into the space between the two pieces and kicked them as hard as she could. The pieces fell to either side, narrowly missing the railings of the Merry.

"Nice one!" Luffy shouted over to Hawke.

She smiled.

Just then, another cannon ball hit close to the ship. Hawke grabbed onto the railing as the deck heaved to and fro.

Just then a flock of gulls landed on the roof of the galley. Hawke glanced at them.

"A big wind is coming," one of the gulls said, looking at her.

Hawke blinked.

"A big wind is coming," it repeated, looking down to the deck.

Hawke followed the birds gaze.

"Why is it looking at Apis?" she muttered.

Just then Apis turned to Nami.

"There's going to be a big wind," she said to the navigator.

"What?" asked Nami, staring at Apis.

"What?!" gasped Hawke, "Apis can understand birds too?"

Nami was still staring at Apis.

Hawke raised her voice.

"Nami!" she shouted, drawing the navigators gaze.

She nodded her head. Nami blinked, then she started barking orders to Luffy and Usopp.

"There's going to be a sudden squall," she shouted, "We'll ride it out of here."

No sooner had the sails been unfurled, than a gust of wind almost as strong as the one that had ravaged Loguetown blew in.

The Merry, being the smaller ship, easily caught the wind and sped far ahead of the Marines.

Hawke made her way up to the crow's nest and scanned the horizon.

"They're not following us!" she cried.

"Alright!" shouted Luffy.

"Hang on," said Zoro cautiously.

"What is it, Zoro?" asked Hawke as she flew down to the deck.

But as she took off, she gasped and almost fell down and hit the deck. She caught herself just before she hit.

Hawkes eyes widened and she stared out at the sea.

"You noticed to," said Zoro, "The wind has stopped, we've been floating here for some time."

"What?!" said Nami nervously.

Then a sudden realization dawned on her and she screamed.

"What's wrong Nami!" shouted Luffy, hurrying over to where the navigator was standing.

"We… we're in the Calm Belt!" she shrieked.

"Huh?" said Usopp.

Hawke ran over to the rail, where Apis was standing.

"Something's coming," the little girl whispered, looking into the water.

"You don't understand," Nami was still yelling, "There's no wind here, how is a sailing ship supposed to sail?! And not only that but –"

Suddenly the sea around them exploded!

Waves tossed the Merry and her crew about. When the sea finally calmed down enough so that they could stay standing, the crew looked out and gasped.

There were sea kings all around their boat.

"This place is the sea king breeding ground," Nami finished, almost hysterically.

"This isn't good," said Hawke, noticing a frog-like sea king caught sight of their ship.

The crew screamed as the giant frog leaped towards them. It could have easily squashed them under its belly.

But before it could land, the Merry shot up into the air once again.

"What is going on?!" wailed Usopp, tumbling around the deck.

Just then Apis let out a scream.

She had fallen off the ship!

"Hang on!" shouted Luffy as he reached out his arm towards her.

He grabbed onto Apis and began pulling her back. But as he was doing so, they heard Apis yell something to him.

"Throw me over there!" she shouted, pointing at something below the ship.

Luffy changed his direction and did as she said.

Apis flew out of sight below the Merry. It was then that Hawke realized what was going on. They had been lifted up on the nose of another giant sea king!

Apis flew into the sea kings nostril and pulled out a nose hair.

The she ricocheted back to the ship and landed on Luffy in heap.

"What did you do that for?!" shouted Nami, "Now he'll be angr-,"

Just then there was a giant lurch and the sea king sneezed. The force of the sneeze shot the Merry high and far into the air and the ship flew over a huge mass of surfacing sea kings.

The ship began to descend and crashed back into the water, sending everyone flying once more.

As the crew regained their balance again, they felt a warm breeze blow through the sails.

"The winds back!" exclaimed Hawke, "We must have got blown out of the Calm Belt by that sneeze."

She glanced over at Apis.

"Good thinking back there," she smiled at the little girl.

"Thanks," said Apis.

"We're saved," sighed Nami, collapsing into a deck chair, "Let's just get to Gunkka Island now."

"Yeah, no more distractions," stated Apis.

"It's not like this was our fault!" Nami fumed at her.

"I'm sorry," whimpered Apis, cowering in fear.

Usopp went to the helm and corrected their course.

The returning wind seemed to be happy they were back because it blew them quickly towards their goal. By the afternoon, they had set anchor in the bay in front of Apis' village.


	10. Chapter 10: A Shocking Encounter

**Chapter 10**

**A Sudden Encounter**

The villagers were wary at first, but when they learned that the Strawhats meant no harm and that they were returning Apis, they let the pirates come ashore. Apis' grandfather invited them up to his house for some pork buns, and of course Luffy accepted this offer.

But Hawke felt a little uneasy. Even before she'd set foot on this island she had felt something strange. It was a sort of soft hum. It was quiet, but constant. She had felt it as they approached the island, but now she was almost unable to ignore it.

"It's almost as if I can feel it," she muttered, rubbing her arms.

"Luffy!" she called after the crew making their way into the village.

"Yeah, Hawke?" she heard the captains reply.

"I'm going to stick around the Merry," she said, "Bring me back one of those pork buns."

"Okay," shouted Luffy as he waved.

Hawke smiled.

"He has nothing but food on his mind", she smiled to herself.

Hawke waved at the villagers as they started to return to their daily business.

She made her way around the shoreline, following the beach.

"What is this feeling?" she muttered.

She felt like there were eyes on her, but not in the literal sense. She felt like someone was _thinking_ about her, so much so that it felt like eyes boring into her back.

Hawke whirled around.

There was nothing behind her but the empty beach and the Merry.

Hawke turned and continued on her walk. She didn't feel reassured in the least.

Making her way into the forest that covered the island, she followed the edge of a rocky cliff. As the cliff started to bend, a ledge began to come out of it. Hawke checked its sturdiness with her foot.

She was just about to step onto it when she heard a voice above her.

"It's you!" exclaimed the voice.

Hawke jumped back and quickly drew a knife out of her jacket.

She scanned the trees overhead and the forest around her. There was no one.

"Come to me," the voice spoke again.

It was a deep, gravelly voice. Like that of an old man who could still sing.

Hawke tensed.

"Where are you?!" she shouted into the forest.

There was no answer. Instead the humming grew noticeably louder.

"Who are you?!" asked Hawke, still scanning her surroundings.

There was still no answer.

Hawke made to turn and go back to the Merry. She wanted to get out of here.

Just then the humming stopped altogether. Hawke froze as she heard a call coming from high up the mountain. It wasn't a human's voice, it was a deep rumbling groan, almost as if the mountain itself was talking.

"Come."

Hawke shivered and looked up. Through a gap in the trees she could see the alternating peaks of the mountain they had seen while sailing towards the island.

She thought for a moment.

"I'm curious now," she confessed, "But this could be really dangerous, especially since I don't think that was a human."

The humming returned. And this time, as Hawke listened to it, she thought she could make out different notes and changes in the tone.

"Is someone singing?" she wondered, looking back up the mountain.

Hawke made her decision.

"Maybe I can find out what this humming noise is all about," she said, encouraging herself as she climbed.

There was a rough trail leading up the sides of the mountain. Even so, the climb was more tiring that Hawke had anticipated.

"Phew," she panted, wiping the sweat out of her eyes, "I better hurry if I want to get back before sundown."

Returning to her climb, she rounded a bend and was suddenly facing a large crevice.

She stood still for a moment, listening.

The humming is definitely coming from in there, she thought.

Hawke tiptoed quietly forward.

"I wish I brought a lantern," she muttered as the darkness closed in around her.

There was a sudden rustling sound from within the depths of the cave.

"Come, my child."

"That voice again," gasped Hawke, "It's really loud this time."

She started cautiously forward again, feeling her way along the wall.

A few moments passed and she could make out a faint light ahead.

Hawke peeked around a boulder and took in the sight before her. She let out a little shriek and stumbled backwards, falling onto the cave floor.

Before her was a huge animal. Hawke could see its body rising and falling with its breath.

The body, filling almost the entire cave, was covered in pale green, stiff feathers. The animals head was resting on the ground. It was also a pale green colour, but instead of a beak, the creature had a lizard like jaw, with sharp teeth protruding from between the lips. It had a bald head with long white hair growing from around the base of it. And the creature had large golden eyes; eyes which had found her as soon as she had peeked around the corner.

Hawke sat on her knees facing the creature. She was scared, but also in awe.

This was definitely a legendary creature, she thought.

"My child," the deep, rumbling voice came from the slightly open jaws.

Hawke gawked.

"It was you?!" she gasped.

"I had never expected to meet you," the creature continued.

Hawke blinked.

"What?" she hesitated.

The creature lifted its head off the ground slightly.

"You are much younger than I thought you would be at this time," it said, "Although, time is often hard to grasp for a Millennium Dragon."

Hawke gasped.

"You're a Millennium Dragon?!" she exclaimed, "I thought those were a myth."

"There are no myths," said the dragon, blinking its large eyes.

Hawke stiffened.

"Wait," she said haltingly, "How can I understand you if you're a dragon?"

The dragon looked at her.

"What is the name you have been given?" it asked.

"Umm… my name is Hawke," she stuttered.

"Hmm," the dragon hummed, "Not a bad name. I am Ryu."

"Ryu," Hawke whispered.

"Hawke-child, you must awaken yourself and right the wrong in this world," Ryu rumbled, "You must realize who you are. I can see that this has not happened yet."

"Umm," Hawke stuttered again, "What are you talking about?"

She was totally lost.

"You are our child," the dragon growled, "You are the one needed to restore balance."

The dragon's eyes seemed to have glazed over.

"You must fix this!" it rumbled loudly, "Bring me back to the Dragons Nest!"

Ryu opened his jaws even wider and lunged towards Hawke.

She shrieked and rolled out of the way.

The dragon's snout hit the wall behind her and she heard him grunt.

"Now where did that lunch go?" he growled loudly, his jaws gaping.

Hawke stood up and started backing out of the cave.

"There you are!" exclaimed Ryu as his eyes focused on Hawke again, "Come back here, I am hungry! Apis hasn't been visiting!"

"Apis?" wondered Hawke, "Did I hear that right? Did he say Apis?"

But she didn't have much time to think about this any further. The Millennium Dragon was still trying to reach out to eat her.

"Come closer, you tastey morsel," grumbled the dragon.

Hawke backed up again.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that," she said and she turned and ran out of the cave.

As Hawke stumbled out, she realized that it was dark, the sun had set.

I need to get back to the Merry, was the only thought that pushed itself through her clouded mind. And she started down the mountain.


	11. Chapter 11: Captured!

**Chapter 11**

**Captured!**

Hawke made her way down the mountain in a daze.

What was she going to tell the crew? Would they even believe her? Did she believe herself? Why was there a dragon hidden away on this island and why did he seem to be going crazy?

She retraced her steps across the beach.

"Well I think he's losing his mind… the way he was talking to me," she muttered, "I have no idea what he was saying."

She stumbled her way back onto the Merry.

"Where is everyone?" she mumbled.

Darkness had already fallen and the ship was still and silent.

Hawke checked the boys' room. The hammocks were empty.

"Nami?" she called quietly, knocking on the door to Nami's room.

There was no answer.

Hawke stood there, bewildered, for a moment.

Where did everybody go?

"Surely they can't still be in the village?" she wondered aloud.

Just then she heard footsteps on the deck behind her.

"There you are," she exclaimed as she turned.

But she was not greeted by her crewmates.

Hawke stood facing the swords of three marine soldiers.

She let out a little gasp and stepped back.

"Where do you think you're going?" she heard a sudden voice from behind her.

Someone grabbed her hands and forced them behind her back. She felt them being tied together.

"Oh no!" she whispered frantically, "Let me go!"

"Not a chance, pirate," retorted one of the marines, "You are under arrest for terrorizing this village."

"What?" exclaimed Hawke, "But I haven't done anything!"

"That's what they all say," laughed a second marine, "Now come with us."

Hawke was given a little shove and made to exit the ship.

"I can't climb down the ladder like this," she said, trying to raise her tied hands.

"Just get down there," snapped the marine behind her, grabbing the collar of her jacket and dangling her over the side of the ship

"W- Wait a second!" she exclaimed.

"Geez, you're as light as a feather," commented the marine holding her.

Two other marines descended the rope ladder. When they reached the ground, they turned and held out their arms.

Hawke was dropped unceremoniously to the waiting marines.

"Watch yourself!" said one of the marines as he caught her.

Hawke grunted and stood up.

"Thank you," she said tersely.

She had to get a grip on herself. This wasn't the time to be spaced out.

Hawke stood and looked at the marines that surrounded her.

There were four of them. The last one was coming down the ladder now.

Did Luffy and the others get captured too? She thought.

No, she decided, there would have been quite the scene if that had been the case. She would have heard it even if she had been up the mountain.

"Alright, move it," the guard behind her said.

Hawke set off, a marine on every side, and was escorted back up the beach and around the point.

There were four Marine ships anchored in the next bay.

Hawke was led onto one of them and brought before the navy captain.

"We've captured one of the Strawhats, Commander, sir!" stated the marine in front of Hawke.

He stepped aside so Hawke could be seen.

The marine captain stared down at her.

"Are you sure she's with the Strawhats?" he barked to an officer.

"We have no record of there being two women on the crew, sir," said the officer, "But we know that she was travelling with the Strawhats and is friendly with them."

"Hmph," the captain grunted, "Well, put her in the holding cell for now. We'll go into the village and capture the rest of the crew in the morning."

"Now just hold on a moment," said a man behind the captain.

Hawke saw the captain's expression darken.

"What do you want Erik?" he snapped.

The man, with thin dark glasses and slick grey hair that was standing up in a squiggle, approached Hawke.

"What were you doing on this island?" he asked, "You didn't go into the village, so where did you go that made you so upset?"

Hawke blinked.

How do they know so much already? She thought, and do I look upset?

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said to Erik.

The man pursed his lips and took a step closer to her.

"You know something. Where are the dragons?!" he scowled at her.

Hawke took a step back.

"I wouldn't tell you even if I knew!" she exclaimed, "What do you want with myths?"

Erik raised his hand and slapped her across the face.

"Insolent girl," he hissed, "There are no myths, not when it concerns the elixir of immortality!"

Hawke stumbled back and fell against the wall, gasping for air.

"Now hang on, Erik!" interceded the commander, "There's no need for violence. The girl doesn't know anything."

He nodded to a marine standing off to the side. He came over and helped Hawke to her feet.

"She will be put in the holding cells until we capture the Strawhats," the captain continued, "If she is confirmed as one of their crew she will be arrested along with them. If not, then I see no law that she has broken, she will be released."

Hawke looked at the marine captain. She could tell that he didn't like that Erik man at all. He seemed to be pretty fair in his sense of justice.

As Hawke was led out of the room she passed Erik, who was standing dejectedly near the door.

"I'll find what you found on that island," he whispered threateningly, "You can't keep the key to the elixir all to yourself."

Hawke glared at him.

She was led to a lower level of the ship that contained many barred cells.

The marine put her in one in the far corner.

"Can't I be in one of the ones closer to light?" she asked, shivering.

"This is protocol Miss Pirate," stated the marine as he untied her hands from behind her back and retied them in front of her body.

"Oh, well," Hawke sighed, "Thank you, my arms were getting sore. And my name is Hawke; please don't call me Miss Pirate."

"I'm sorry, Miss Hawke," stuttered the marine.

Hawke smiled and sat down on the only stool in her cell.

The marine stood with his back to the cell.

"Are you guarding me?" she asked the marine's back.

She saw him stiffen.

"Uh- we aren't supposed to engage the prisoners," the marine said without turning.

"So I am a prisoner," said Hawke.

She got up and looked around.

Other than the stool, there was a small cot along one side of her cell and a bucket in the opposite corner.

Gross, thought Hawke as she looked at the bucket.

Two sides of her cell were made of wooden planks; they were part of the ship's hull. In one of the walls, there was a small porthole, just above the water line.

Hawke went over and looked out the window.

The sky outside was still dark. It must be really late, Hawke thought, yawning, I wonder where everyone is…

She could see her reflection in the dark glass. The spot where Erik had hit her was already bruising. She traced the outline of the bruise with her finger, wincing when she passed over a tender spot.

She turned and addressed the marine's back again.

"So why exactly have I been imprisoned?" she asked.

"You were arrested under suspicions of being a pirate or associating with pirates," said the marine.

"Oh," said Hawke.

She shuffled her feet, wondering how she could escape and get back to Luffy. Suddenly a thought struck her.

"Why are there _four_ navy ships on this tiny little island? That seems like an awful lot. Is something bad happening?"

The marine's back stiffened again.

"I can't give out information on the navy's actions to non-navy persons," the marine stuttered.

"You really like your protocol don't you," Hawke sighed, lying back on her bed, "Can you at least tell me why that Erik guy hit me? What does he want with this island? He doesn't seem to be one of you…"

There was a pause.

Hawke glanced over at the marine. He seemed to be debating with himself.

She decided to try and influence his decision. Maybe he would tell her something useful.

"Ouch," she groaned, holding her cheek, "Do you have anything I could numb my cheek with?"

The marine turned to look into the cell.

Hawke pinched her bruise to bring on some tears and gave him her puppy eyes.

Hawke saw a look of concern pass over the marine's face.

"I'll see if I can get some ice," he said and left the door of her cell.

Hawke waited until she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, and then she jumped up and went over to the door of her cell.

"The lock isn't very sturdy," she muttered to herself, analyzing the thin metal casing.

She took a knife out of her jacket and started fiddling with the back of the lock.

"I wonder why they didn't even search me?" she said aloud, "The security in the Navy isn't that great."

The tip of her knife caught at the seam of the metal sheet covering the back of the lock. She began peeling it back to reveal its inner workings.

"That was easy," she smiled.

Just then, she heard footsteps returning down the hall.

Hawke quickly pushed the metal back into place and sat back down on the bed.

The marine who'd been guarding her returned, carrying a cloth bundle in his hand.

"Here," he said, holding the bundle between the bars, "This should numb the pain and stop the swelling."

Hawke got up and took the bundle from him. It turned out to be an ice pack.

"Thank you so much," Hawke smiled as she held the bundle up to her cheek, "It feels better already."

The marine smiled, then checked himself and turned his back to the cell again.

"You're welcome," he said.

Hawke eyed his back.

"Could I at least know the name of this nice marine?" she asked politely.

"My name is Meeko, Miss Hawk," said the marine, still facing away.

But Hawke could hear his voice getting softer.

"Well then, Meeko," she said moving closer to the bars, "Do you know why that mean man hit me? I don't know what I did."

Meeko's shoulders fell and he turned to face her.

Hawke smiled.

"Well I guess you have a right to know why you were assaulted," he said, "Erik isn't a member of our unit, he works for Commodore Nelson Royale, the leader of the 8th division. I hear that he was in charge of kidnapping a small girl from this island."

"Apis?" gasped Hawke, "We just returned her to this village."

Meeko glanced at her.

"Well, Erik was just hired to do Royale's dirty work," he continued, smirking, "He's after the elixir of immortality, which he thinks he can make from the bones of a dragon."

So he kidnapped Apis to force her to show him where Ryu is hiding, Hawke realized.

She looked at the floor.

"So I must have made him quite upset," she mumbled, "He probably thinks I know something about that."

"He's a lowlife who shouldn't be employed by the marines," snapped Meeko.

Hawke gave him another smile.

"Thanks for explaining it to me," she said, backing away.

"No problem Miss Hawke," said Meeko, turning around again.

"You don't need to call me "Miss"," laughed Hawke as she sat down on the cot.

She used the silence that followed to finally digest all the information that had been thrust upon her in the past few hours.

It sounded like Apis knew about the dragon, Ryu had said she hadn't been visiting him. And she probably hadn't been visiting because she had been kidnapped by the marines. It sounded like this Royale guy wanted the elixir of immortality and found out about Apis and the Millennium Dragon.

That's probably why there are so many marine ships here, she thought. They probably want to raid the island and try to capture Ryu.

And then her thoughts turned to the dragon himself. He had said a lot of things that made no sense to Hawke. He had called her his child. She didn't know if he meant it literally or if it was just something he called everybody younger than himself. He had said she was the key to peace and that he wanted her to bring him back to a place called the Dragon's Nest. Although Hawke was pretty sure that by that point in the conversation he had gone a bit senile. He had tried to eat her after that, after all.

Then something about the confrontation with Erik came back to her. He had said "there are no myths", the exact same thing that Ryu had said back up the mountain. Could that be more than just a coincidence? She thought.

Hawke gave up trying to make sense of what Ryu had told her and focused on a more pressing matter. Where was the rest of the crew?! Hawke hadn't heard anything about them from the marines. Which is good I guess, she thought, that means they haven't been found. She wondered if they had found out about Apis' secret.

"I hope they're okay," she whispered.

"Did you say something?" asked Meeko, tilting his head towards the cage.

"No," said Hawke apologetically, "I was just hoping my friends are okay."

"Oh, okay," Meeko shrugged.

Then he turned to face the cage again.

"Are you really a pirate?" he asked.

Hawke blinked.

"I think it would be best if you didn't know anything about me," she said quietly.

Even if he was nice to her, he was still a marine.

"You just really don't look the part, if you are," added Meeko.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Hawke, a little offended.

The marine let out a little chuckle.

"You're just too cute to be a pirate," he said.

Hawke, who had been standing, flustered, in the middle of her cell, lowered her eyes and shuffled her feet.

"Oh," she mumbled, then she put her hands on her hips, "Well I can be pretty fierce in a pinch."

"Well then I don't want to be on your bad side," laughed Meeko.

Hawke smiled.

"Well, there's not much I can do in here," she said and walked over to the bed, "I'm going to try to get some sleep."

"Okay," said Meeko, returning to his post, "Sleep well."

"Thanks," Hawke mumbled as she lay down.

Despite her predicament, Hawke was asleep moments after her head hit the pillow.


	12. Chapter 12: The Dragon's Nest

**Chapter 12**

**The Dragon's Nest**

Hawke woke to bright sunlight shining directly into her face.

"Ugh," she groaned and rolled over.

"See?" she heard a voice say, "There's no way she could be a pirate. I feel bad keeping her in a cell."

Hawke's ears perked up, but she stayed lying still, pretending to be asleep.

The voice, which she thought was Meeko's was speaking again.

"I mean, if we're guarding her for no reason, then it would make not being able to go on the raid even worse."

"I know," said another voice Hawke hadn't heard before, "It could have been us who captured the Strawhats."

"Yeah," sighed Meeko, "But I don't know why the commander took the whole unit. There was almost no one left to guard the ships. It seems a little bit excessive."

"Well I heard that Erik told him to," said the other man grunted, "Man, I wish he would just leave us alone. It sucks that he has more authority than the Commander."

"Yeah," agreed Meeko, "I thought the Commander was going to lose it when Erik slapped her."

So they've gone to try to capture Luffy and Ryu by the sounds of it, thought Hawke, I need to get out of here.

She sat up and stretched.

"Good morning," she said yawning.

"Glad you're awake," said Meeko.

He was sitting at the door of her cell. And the other man was standing, leaning on the door of the cell opposite Hawke's.

Hawke sat for a moment.

"It sure seems quiet around here this morning," she commented.

"Well most of the men are out capturing the Strawhats," said the man who was standing.

"I see," said Hawke, then she looked at Meeko, "Were you up all night?"

"No, not all night," he replied, "Gavin here replaced me at three o'clock."

"You must be tired then," said Hawke to Gavin.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I've had the morning shifts for a long time," he said, "I'm used to it now."

So I guess you won't be falling asleep on the job then, Hawke sighed to herself.

Just then her stomach gave a small growl.

"Umm," she said blushing, "Do you guys have anything I could eat for breakfast?"

"Of course," said Meeko, "We can't let our lovely detainee go hungry."

He got up and exited the holding cells.

"So, Lovely Detainee," teased Gavin, "Looks like you have Meeko wrapped around your little finger."

"He's been nice to me," responded Hawke, glancing warily at him through the bars, "I see no reason to be rude to him."

"Hmph," Gavin grunted and leaned back against the opposite cell.

Hawke got up and stretched, then made her way over to her little window.

The day was sunny and bright. She had to squint to see through the light shining off the water.

Through the glare, Hawke could make out a silhouette in the sea just around the bend of the island. She squinted even harder, trying to make out the shape.

She could see the outline of a ship. She shielded her eyes with her hand.

A cloud passed over the sun for a moment. Hawke blinked as the ship suddenly came into focus.

What is the Going Merry doing over there?! She gaped, its setting sail!

She turned around suddenly.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she stated, trying not to sound panicky.

Gavin pointed at the bucket.

"There's no way I'm using that!" retorted Hawke, "That's disgusting!"

"Well that's your problem," snapped Gavin, folding his arms across his chest.

Hawke glared at him. He smirked.

Just then Meeko returned.

"Here you are Miss Hawke," he said and held out an apple and a bowl of cereal through the bars.

"Thanks," smiled Hawke, "But I really have to go to the bathroom."

Meeko's face fell.

"I'm sorry," he said, "But we aren't allowed to take you out of your cell unless it's under the commanders orders."

Hawke groaned, but she took the food being held out for her and sat down on her bed.

I can't sit around here, she thought frantically as she ate her breakfast, I need to get back to Luffy!

She finished her food and handed the dishes back to Meeko, thanking him again. Then she went back over to the window. The Merry was further away.

Where are they going? She thought, clenching her fists, weren't they going to wait for her?

Just then they heard a man yell down the hall.

"All hands on deck! The pirates are escaping!"

"What?!" exclaimed Meeko and Gavin together.

They glanced at each other and then ran up on deck, without giving Hawke a single thought.

"Perfect!" she whispered and took out her knife.

She peeled back the casing on the lock again and looked at the locking mechanism.

"This should do it," she muttered as she wedged the tip of her blade into the space between the spring and the latch holding the lock down.

As she pushed down, the spring shot out of the lock, narrowly missing her ear.

"Whew," she panted as the lock fell out of place.

Hawke pulled on the door and it swung inwards.

"Alright," she whispered and snuck out of the holding room.

Hawke made her way up through the ship. She was being as quiet as she could, and she didn't run into any marines on her way.

"They must all be on the deck or on the island," she muttered.

She retraced her steps from the night before and ended up at the door that lead out to the deck. Standing on tiptoes, she peeked through the window in the door.

There were about twenty marines running around the deck, getting ready to start sailing. She saw Meeko and Gavin climbing up the rigging to unfurl the sails.

"They're going to chase after the Merry," Hawke realized, "If I can get out there, I can jump over board and get on the Merry when they get close enough."

Hawke opened the door a crack and peered out. There was a pile of boxes on the deck just outside the door.

She glanced around to make sure that no one was looking her way. Then she darted out and jumped behind the boxes.

Made it, she thought.

Hawke took a moment to gather her bearings. She needed to get to a spot that wouldn't be guarded by the marines, and a part of the ship that would get close enough to the Merry so that she could jump over.

She peeked out from behind the boxes. Scanning the deck, she caught sight of the walkway that went around the side of the ship.

"If I remember correctly," she whispered to herself, "Marine ships have a small observations deck at the back under the captain's room."

Suddenly, footsteps came up beside the boxes.

Hawke ducked back and crouched behind them, hoping she hadn't been seen.

"Cowardly pirates," she heard a marine retort, "They always run, and they never fight."

"Well I have a feeling they aren't running away," said another marine, "There are only two men sailing the ship, the rest of the pirates aren't there."

The first marine grunted.

"Sounds to me like they're abandoning their crew," he scoffed, "I wouldn't expect any more from pirates."

The marines' footsteps faded away.

"Only two men?" Hawke wondered, "Why are there only two? Where are the others?"

She peeked out again and, seeing the coast was clear, made a dash for the walkway.

"I just hope there isn't anybody back here," she whispered to herself as she darted into the passage.

Her luck held, the walkway was deserted.

Hawke sped down it and rounded the back of the ship. There was a small platform there, with enough space for a chair and a table. It too was deserted.

"Okay," said Hawke as she sat down in the chair, "Now I just need them to catch up with the Merry."

As she said this, the ship jerked and started to move forward.

Hawke jumped up and went to the other corner of the ship's hull. Looking around it, she could get a good view of the Merry. The Marine ship was closing in fast.

Hawke noticed that the Merry wasn't heading out to sea; it was following the shoreline around the island.

"Where are they going?" she wondered aloud.

Then she looked ahead and saw a large cliff jutting out from the island for quite a ways, forming an odd point.

There? She thought, why would they be going there?

The marines were gaining on the Merry and soon Hawke could make out the two figures running around the deck.

"It's Zoro and Usopp!" she cried, waving.

But they were still too far apart for anything to be heard.

Hawke waited impatiently for the marines to close in. The ship wedged itself between the Merry and the island.

"I guess they're trying to cut off an escape route," Hawke muttered.

The Merry and the marine ship were right under point now.

"Zoro! Usopp!" Hawke called again.

This time they heard her.

Zoro gave the helm to Usopp and ran over to the rail.

"Hawke!" he yelled, "What are you doing over there?"

"I got captured," returned Hawke, climbing onto the edge of the walkway, "Hang on, I'll jump over."

"Hurry up!" shouted Zoro.

Hawke readied herself to jump. She extended her wings just a little underneath her jacket. This will give me more lift, she thought.

"Watch out!" she heard Usopp's voice suddenly.

She saw Zoro look above her and saw his eyes widen.

"Hawke!" he shouted.

As she turned to look above her, there was a huge crash and the marine ship gave a violent lurch. Hawke lost her balance and fell off the railing into the sea.

She came up spluttering and spitting out water.

"What was that?" she gasped.

There was a sudden great splash from the other side of the Merry. Hawke was washed backwards, away from the ships.

"No," she gasped again and started swimming back towards the Merry.

Just then, she caught sight of something in the water behind the Merry.

"Is that what made the splash?" she wondered.

Hawke swam to the side a bit to get a better view.

There was a large raft floating beside the Merry. Hawke craned her neck to see what was on the raft.

"What?!" she exclaimed in disbelief.

Ryu was on the raft!

The great Millennium Dragon was still quietly on the raft with Apis on his shoulder. Hawke could also see Luffy, Nami and Sanji standing beside Ryu.

"They're safe," she sighed in relief, "And it looks like they know about Apis and Ryu."

But what are they doing here? She thought.

Then it clicked.

Ryu must have asked them the same thing he had told her: to take him to the Dragon's Nest.

Because if he had, there's no way Luffy would turn him down.

"Luffy!" she called over the waves.

"There you are Hawke!" yelled Luffy when he caught sight of her in the water, "Where have you been? Hurry!"

"I'm coming," panted Hawke as she extended her wings under her jacket and sped through the water.

Hawke was approaching the raft when a sudden explosion erupted in the water behind her.

"They're firing at us!" exclaimed Nami as she climbed back onto the ship, "We have to get out of here now!"

"Hurry Hawke," shouted Luffy.

"I'll save you Hawke-san!" Sanji cooed over the railing, reaching down towards the water.

Hawke saw Usopp lowering the ladder. She swam over and grabbed onto the bottom rung.

She was climbing, when all of a sudden, Ryu let out an immense roar.

"No Hawke-child! You must stay here!" he cried.

"What?!" exclaimed Hawke, still clinging to the ladder, "Why can't I come?"

"You can hear the dragon too?" Nami asked Hawke, leaning over the side.

"Yeah," said Hawke distractedly.

She was still focusing on Ryu.

"You must not go to the Dragon's Nest," said Ryu, quieting down a bit, "You must stay here and wait for your friends to return."

"There's no way I'm staying here alone," said Hawke, a little ticked off at the dragon.

"Hawke," Luffy interjected suddenly, "I think you should stay here."

"What?" snapped Zoro.

"Luffy?" Hawke gave him a pleading look.

But Luffy shook his head.

"We'll come right back," he grinned, "Promise."

Hawke felt extremely conflicted. But she began lowering herself back into the water.

"You guys better hurry," she said, giving them a smile, "I'll be waiting for you at this point."

She raised her hand to the cliff towering over them.

As the Merry sped too safety, Hawke submerged herself and watched the marine ship pass over her.

I wonder if they know I've escaped yet, she thought.

As the ships cleared the area above her head, Hawke resurfaced and slowly started swimming back towards Gunkka Island.

"Why couldn't I go with them?" she pouted, "They'll probably have a big adventure without me."

She reached the shore and clambered out of the water and onto the beach.

Hawke stood watching the Merry vanish from the horizon, followed by the navy ships.

"Just hurry back, okay," she told the empty air.

Suddenly there was a voice from behind her.

"What are you doing here, Miss Hawke?"

She whirled around.

There was Meeko, his clothing drenched, and supporting Gavin on his shoulder.

"Um, I could ask you the same thing," stuttered Hawke, "Shouldn't you be on the ship?"

Meeko stared at her.

"I could say the same to you," he said.

"Fair enough," said Hawke with a small smile, "You fell off the ship too then, when the raft hit it?"

Meeko nodded.

Gavin groaned.

"Is he okay?" Hawke asked, approaching the marines.

"Stay back, pirate," snapped Gavin.

"I'm not going to hurt you or anything," said Hawke as she came up beside him.

"Come on Gavin, we don't know that she's a pirate," said Meeko, "Those pirates just left her."

Gavin glared at her.

"Well are you?" he taunted, "Did you just get abandoned by your crew and so you're sniveling up to the marines so you won't get punished?"

Hawke glared at him.

Still, she thought, it might be best if I didn't admit I'm part of their crew to these guys.

"I was sailing with them to get to the Grand Line," she said, "They helped me out and they're my friends."

She left it at that and hoped it was enough.

Meeko gave Gavin an encouraging glance. Gavin just scowled.

"It looks like something happened to your leg," commented Hawke, looking at Gavin's bloody pant leg.

"It's nothing," the marine grunted, but he looked pale, "I just need to sit down."

"Well don't sit here," cautioned Hawke as Meeko moved to lower his friend onto the beach, "The sand will get into it and cause an infection."

She pointed to a grassy space just up the beach.

"Let him sit there," she said.

Meeko led Gavin over to the grass and let him drop onto the ground.

"Let's have a look," Meeko said as he raised the bloodied pant leg.

Hawke looked over his shoulder.

Something had hit Gavin's leg, slicing a cut across the front of his calf.

"It doesn't look so bad," said Hawke, "Nothing's broken, it's just a cut."

Gavin glared at her, but his face regained some of its colour and he seemed to calm down a bit.

"Here," said Hawke, reaching into her jacket and taking out a roll of bandages, "These will be good enough."

"Thanks," said Meeko and he began fixing up his friends leg.

"Well, I hope you guys get back to your ship eventually," said Hawke, starting to walk away.

"Hey, wait a minute," said Gavin, holding up his hand.

Hawke stopped.

"You're still a marine prisoner," Gavin continued, "You have to stay here until the commander comes back and arrests you."

Hawke looked down at him. Then she gave an exasperated sigh.

"I won't go far," she pointed to the jutting cliff, "If you want to arrest me, I'll be up there."

And with that she walked away up the shoreline.

Hawke made her way up onto the top of the cliff, then walked along it all the way to its point.

She stood watching the sea for a long while, then finally sat down, cross-legged, and waited.

Her eyes never left the horizon.

The sun made its way to the highest point in the sky, then slowly started to descend.

Hawke heard approaching footsteps from behind her.

"What are you doing up here?" Meeko asked.

Hawke sighed and looked back at him.

"I'm waiting for my friends to come back for me," she said, then returned her gaze to the horizon.

"And you really think that pirates are going to come back for you?"

She could hear the doubt in his question.

"Not all pirates are like you think they are," she said quietly, "These pirates will turn down a mountain of treasure if it means getting their friends back faster."

She heard Meeko give a little huff.

"It doesn't matter if you don't believe me," she said, "They'll come back. And I'm waiting here until they do."

There was silence for a few moments.

"You really think they'll come back, just for you?" Meeko asked again.

Hawke's hand came up and found the chains around her neck.

"Yes."

Another silence.

"Well, if the commander gets back before they do, you'll have to come with us," said Meeko decisively.

"That won't happen," cried Hawke, jumping up and pointing at the horizon.

The silhouette of the Going Merry could be seen approaching the island.

"That was quick," muttered Meeko, "But the commander isn't that far behind!"

The marine ships had just come into view over the horizon, still in hot pursuit of the Strawhats.

They can still make it here ahead of the marines, thought Hawke as she analyziede the distance between the Merry and her pursuers.

"Wait," said Meeko suddenly, "Why is the Commodore here?"

Hawke looked towards the sea in front of the Merry.

There were dozens upon dozens of navy war ships advancing on her crew!

"Oh no!" she whispered, "Be careful Luffy."

There was nothing they could do but watch as the Merry got caught in a circle of marine ships.

Hawke looked on in despair as they began to open fire on her friends.

"I have to get out there!" she cried and started towards the edge of the cliff.

"Are you insane?!" exclaimed Meeko as he grabbed her arm, "You'll die if you jump from this height."

"No I won't," snapped Hawke.

But she did stop.

I don't think I should reveal my wings to the marines, she thought.

"But then what should I do?" she whispered frantically, watching the battle enfolding in front of her.

"Don't do anything," said Meeko, still keeping his grip on her arm, "The Strawhats will be captured and then you can prove you don't have any connections with them and—"

Meeko was interrupted by an extremely loud roar, echoeing out across the sea.

"What was that?" shouted the marine.

"Ryu?" gasped Hawke, "Aren't you supposed to be at the Dragon's Nest? Why are you still here?"

"The time has come!" roared the dragon again.

Hawke squinted towards the Merry, trying to see him amidst all the ships.

"What time has come?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?" said Meeko.

But Hawke hushed him with a wave of her hand.

There he was! Her eyes finally found Ryu. He had somehow fallen off the raft and was now floating on the water. No wait… he was sinking!

Just then a flash of red caught her eye. It was Luffy! He was on Ryu's back.

"Save him Luffy!" cried Hawke, "He's sinking!"

"What are you—" Meeko was interrupted again.

But this time, it was by the island.

The whole mountain suddenly jerked and started shaking.

Hawke fell to the ground.

"What's going on?!" she cried, covering her head as rocks began to fall down the mountain.

The shaking continued and Hawke crawled closer to the tip of the cliff.

Looking down, she realized what was going on.

"The island is rising," she gasped.

Meeko crawled up beside her and his jaw dropped.

Under the ocean spread out before them, murky shadows began to emerge. The shadows quickly became clear and revealed the ocean floor was rising to the surface.

Large rocks began bursting through the surface of the water, impaling marine ships and causing huge waves.

As the shaking finally died down, Hawke stood up and took in the scene that now lay stretched out before her.

The large expanse of rocky pools was dotted with large, strange looking rocks that overshadowed the water. There were coral reefs forming ridges and adding colour and seaweed beds covering the edges of the pools.

Hawke was jerked out of her amazement by Ryu…

No wait, she thought, that doesn't sound like Ryu.

Hawke turned her face skywards and gasped in astonishment.

The sky was full of Millennium Dragons! They were circling lower and lower, crying out and calling all the way down.

As Hawke watched, they landed on the rocky ocean bottom and began flitting about, feeding and preening each other's feathers.

"This is amazing," she sighed as she took in the view.

Just then, she caught sight of Luffy and the others. They had gotten off the Merry and were walking among the dragons.

Hawke immediately turned and sped down the cliff, completely ignoring Meeko's protests. She ran down the beach and out onto the rocky flats. As she began picking her way through the flock of dragons, she heard an agonizing wail.

"That sounded like Apis," she muttered worriedly and quickly changed her course and ran in the direction of the sound.

Hawke rounded one of the oddly shaped pillar rocks and found her crew standing facing away from her.

"Guys," she sighed happily and ran over to them.

"There you are," smiled Nami.

Zoro turned and gave her a satisfied smirk.

"You've finally returned to us Hawke-chwan!" swooned Sanji.

"I'm glad you're okay… Luffy," Hawke's voice faded away as she noticed what Luffy and the others had been looking at.

There was a larger pool in front of them. Apis was at the edge of it pacing and crying. And in the middle of it was Ryu, lying still and motionless.

"Oh no," gasped Hawke, her hand coming up and covering her mouth, "Please don't tell me…"

"He's dead," said Luffy, surprisingly blunt.

"No he's not!" screamed Apis, "Ryu, say something!"

"Apis…" said Nami sadly.

Hawke felt tears filling her eyes.

"He's dead Apis," said Luffy, "But he's happy. He wanted to get the Dragon's Nest, and he made it there."

"But he said he would get better if he went to the Dragon's Nest," wailed Apis, "You liar, Ryu!"

"He wasn't lying," said Luffy quietly, "Dragons come to here to die and then be reborn."

He pointed across the pool. There were two other Millennium Dragons fussing over a small rock. The rock cracked and suddenly a baby dragon emerged and began peeping.

"Apis!" it peeped, "Apis! Apis! Apis!"

Apis stood frozen, staring at the baby dragon. Then she tilted her head back and wailed. She sobbed and sobbed, crying her heart out.

Luffy smiled.

Then he turned to Hawke, who was still staring at the baby dragon, tears falling down her face.

"He didn't want you to come here because he didn't want you to see him die," Luffy said into her ear, "He said that you look just like your mom and he wouldn't be able to handle seeing you sad."

Hawke stared at Luffy.

"How could you understand him?" she asked through the tears blurring her vision.

Luffy shrugged.

"I just could," he said, then he paused and whispered into her ear, "He said he was your father."

Hawke shook her head. She didn't know what any of that meant, but she knew that she was extremely sad about Ryu dying. She sank to her knees and sobbed silently into her hands.

"Woah," said Usopp, "There's no need to get so emotional."

"Let her cry Usopp," said Luffy, patting Hawke on the back.

The crew enjoyed a happy moment, watching the dragons and seeing more hatching baby dragons.

Hawke finally got a hold of herself and went to console Apis.

"I want to learn more about dragons," Apis sniffled.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," smiled Hawke.

She took Apis by the hand and they started to make their way back to the main island.

"Just where do you think you're going?" said a menacing voice from behind them.

The crew turned and was confronted with Erik. He was standing on a higher piece of coral and was jeering down at them.

"Now that I have all the dragon bones I could ever want, I can't have you pesky youngsters spreading the word about this," he sneered at them.

"It's the Okama man!" shouted Luffy.

"It's Ogama," said the man through clenched teeth, "Now feel the despair as I kill these dragons and become immortal as you lie dying."

"I won't let you do that," said Luffy, his eyes hidden under the brim of his hat, "Everyone, get back!"

The crew retreated and watched as Luffy fought with Erik.

Erik bombarded Luffy with slice attacks that cut through his rubber body. Luffy threw punches at him but Erik was too quick and he dodged them all.

"Luffy," whispered Hawke worriedly.

"He'll be fine," muttered Zoro.

They watched as Luffy launched into his final attack and managed to plant blow after blow on Erik, sending the man sailing through the air.

"Hurray Luffy!" cried Apis.

Hawke breathed a sigh of relief.

The Going Merry was once again ready to set sail. The crew gathered around the ladder and said goodbye to the villagers of Gunkka Island.

"You sure you don't want to come with us Apis?" Luffy was asking.

"No," said the little girl, "I think I should stay here. I want to learn all I can about the Millennium Dragons and teach it to everyone on the island."

"Alright, then," laughed Luffy, "Take care everyone."

The crew climbed aboard and set sail, waving goodbye until they couldn't see the villagers any more.

"Well that was quite the adventure," said Nami, returning to her charts.

"Yeah," said Hawke, "It's funny how everything worked out in the end."

"Oh, Hawke-san," said Sanji, coming over to her, "One of the villagers asked me to give you this."

He held out a half-roll of bandages.

"She said that a young man asked her to return this to the girl with the brown hair and leather jacket," continued Sanji.

Hawke took them and smiled.

"I'd forgotten about them," she mumbled, "I wonder if they got off the island okay."

"Who's that?" asked Zoro.

"Some marines I met," said Hawke.

"Oh yeah," said Nami, "Usopp said you got captured by the marines. How did you escape?"

"That doesn't matter," shouted Luffy, bursting into the conversation, "Nami, let's go to the Grand Line!"

The captain's excitement was contagious, and soon everyone had forgotten about the events of the day and was looking towards the next.

But Hawke couldn't help dwelling on the events that had occurred on Gunkka Island. This was the first time she had heard anything referring to her mother. It had awoken an urge inside of her. She wanted desperately to find out about her parents, and about who she was. She knew that, despite being senile, there had been some truth in Ryu's words to her. Hawke needed to find out what he meant.

Luffy had told her about the crew's pledge on the barrel as they set out from Loguetown towards the Grand Line.

Later that night, once everyone had gone to bed, Hawke crept up on deck and went over to the barrel. It was still standing in its place by the masthead. She looked at the barrel, then out to sea. Taking a deep breath, she raised her foot and slammed it onto the top of the barrel.

"To find out who I am," she said to the waves.

Then, lowering her foot, she returned to the crow's nest to keep the watch.

Her mind was full of thoughts of Ryu's words. She still didn't understand why she had been so sad that he had died. As she thought about this, tears came to her eyes once more and she cried softly into her sleeves.

Since her face was buried in her arms, she didn't notice when a green hair shadow slipped silently back into the boys' bedroom.


	13. Chapter 13: The Red Line

**Chapter 13**

**The Red Line**

The next day dawned cloudy and windy.

Hawke was still up in the crows' nest, watching the churning sea.

"There are some big waves out there," she called down to Nami, "And there's a reef off to the right."

"Thanks," returned Nami, "Sanji, turn us left."

"Of course Nami-dear," came the reply from within the ship.

"Okay we're clear now," called Hawke after they had passed the reef, "We should be good for a while."

She flew down to the deck.

"It's so cool how you can do that," sighed Nami, watching Hawke land.

Hawke smiled.

"Yes, it's the silver lining I guess," she replied.

"How does it work with your jacket on?" asked Nami.

"Oh, like this," said Hawke, taking off her jacket and holding it up, "There are two slits under the folds here. That's where my wings come out."

She poked her hands through the holes and wriggled her fingers.

"Ah, that's clever," said Nami.

Zoro came out of the kitchen onto the deck.

"Hey, Hawke," he called, "Something's been bothering me."

"What is it Zoro?" asked the scout.

"Where do you keep your sword and knives?" he asked.

"Oh right," Hawke smiled, "I guess it's not a secret anymore."

She unfolded her wings and lifted the right one up, revealing a harness that was attached to her wing. Her sword was strapped onto it, as well as some throwing knives and a small bag.

"They're good for storing things too," Hawke laughed.

"Huh," Zoro raised an eyebrow, "And that isn't uncomfortable when your wings are… in tattoo form?"

"Nope," said Hawke, "I can feel their weight, but they fit in there nicely."

"That's good to know," said Zoro, "If we ever need to sneak something in somewhere, we can use your wings."

"I wouldn't mind that," said Hawke, smiling, "I'd love to be of use to you guys."

Sanji came out of the kitchen.

"Here's your lunch Hawke-san," he cooed, handing her a small box, "I wrapped it especially for you so you could take it up to the crows' nest."

"Thank you Sanji," said Hawke, taking the box, "I should get back up there."

"Oh, so soon?" pouted Sanji.

"Yeah," said Nami, "We should be approaching the Red Line soon. We need her up on watch."

"Whatever you say Nami-swan," swooned Sanji, "I have your lunch here too, my love."

"Hey, where's my lunch," snapped Zoro.

"In the kitchen, Moss Head," said Sanji, "Go get it yourself."

"Damn cook," Zoro grunted and headed back into the kitchen.

Hawke carried her lunch up to the crows' nest and sat down to eat.

"Mmm," she sighed, "Sanji's food is always so delicious."

Hawke turned her eyes to the horizon.

She squinted.

"Well that looks weird," she muttered.

"Nami," she called down, "How far are we from the Red Line?"

"About 15 miles, I think," called Nami.

"Well I see a huge dark line on the horizon," said Hawke.

"That would be it," called Nami, "It's a huge wall of red mountains. They reach up past the clouds. There's only one entrance and it's really small."

"I'll keep an eye out," returned Hawke, and turned her eyes seaward again.

A couple hours passed before Hawke could see any detail of the Red Line. It was enormous. Hawke couldn't believe that such huge mountains existed in the world. They must reach up to heaven, she thought.

"I'm going to fly over and check it out," called down Hawke.

"Okay, be careful," shouted Nami.

"Wait! Take me too!" called Luffy.

He stretched his arm up and grabbed the edge crows' nest, catapulting himself up.

"Strap on," laughed Hawke when Luffy reached her.

He wrapped himself around her like before and they took off.

"Try not to move around too much this time okay, Luffy," cautioned Hawke as she fought the wind, "It's hard to stay steady."

"Woah, it's so huge!" Luffy gaped, staring at the Red Line.

Hawke beat her wings and the distance between them and the mountains quickly diminished. Soon they were right up to the rocks.

"Take us closer," urged Luffy.

"I'll try," said Hawke and she dove down to the surface of the water.

They rode a gust of wind up and skimmed the rocky surface up the mountain, dodging in and out between the jutting rocks.

"Woohoo!" shouted Luffy, as they soared back out over the sea, "Oh, what's that?" he said, pointing down at the wall.

Hawke flew lower. There was a gate visible. It was only a small opening in the huge wall of rock.

"That must be where we have to sail through," said Hawke, "Wait… what?"

She squinted at the gate.

"Alright, let's go join the others and sail over the Red Line!" shouted Luffy, interrupting her thoughts.

"Aye aye, Captain," Hawke laughed.

She adjusted her course and headed back to the Merry.

"Good," she noted, "The ship seems to be right in line with the gate."

They flew in silence for a moment.

"Do you believe him?" asked Luffy suddenly.

Hawke frowned.

"No," she said, "I can't believe that a thousand year old Millennium Dragon is my father, Luffy. That's impossible."

"You never know," said Luffy, bending his neck around so he could look at her.

Hawke kept frowning.

"But maybe he did know who my mother was…" she trailed off.

"You want to find out who your parents are?" asked Luffy.

"Yeah," said Hawke, looking down at him, "Don't you Luffy?"

The captain shook his head.

"I don't really mind," he said.

"Well you could always ask your grampa if you ever wanted to," said Hawke, "I don't have that option."

Luffy was silent for a moment.

"Maybe your parents are really cool, like Ace's," he laughed.

"What do you mean?" asked Hawke.

"Ace's dad was the Pirate King!" exclaimed Luffy, "Isn't that so cool!"

"Wait," stuttered Hawke, "You mean that our older brother's father was Gol D. Roger?!"

Luffy unwrapped his arms and flailed them in excitement.

"Ace doesn't like it," he said, "So I'm not supposed to tell anyone. But it's so cool!"

"Wow," sighed Hawke in amazement, "I really want to meet Ace."

"He's so awesome," sighed Luffy, dangling his body down towards the water.

"Luffy!" exclaimed Hawke, trying to hang onto him, "Get back up here and behave."

They landed back on the deck and Luffy untangled himself and ran to the sheep's head to sit in his spot.

Hawke went over to Nami.

"We saw the opening," she confirmed, "And it looks like we're heading straight for it."

"Excellent," said Nami, squinting towards the Red Line, "We're getting closer."

"There was one more thing," said Hawke, hesitating, "I'm not sure if I saw this right, but it looked like the water was flowing up the mountain."

Nami nodded.

"That's what I've been told about the gate. It's called Reverse Mountain, the water flows up the mountain instead of down it."

Hawke stared at the looming red wall.

"It's all so majestic," she said in wonder.

"Well you won't think that when we get smashed to pieces on the rocks," warned Nami, "This is a really dangerous crossing."

"Let's go!" came Luffy's voice from the front.

Nami sighed.

"Why does he never worry?" she said and turned her attention back to her charts.

Hawke flew back up to the crows' nest and stood facing the approaching wall.

"Still on course," she called down, "Watch for a rip current on the left."

"Sanji, move us to the left!" shouted Nami, "We want to get onto that current."

The current grabbed the Merry and the ship started to pick up speed.

"There's a rock straight ahead," called Hawke.

"Move us right, Sanji," shouted Nami.

"Yes Nami-swan!" Sanji's voice came up from the ship.

"Almost there," whispered Hawke.

The gate was right in front of them.

Usopp and Zoro moved to the rail and looked up.

"It's massive," gasped Usopp.

"How is that water flowing upwards?!" muttered Zoro.

"Woohoo!" shouted Luffy from the masthead.

The Merry seemed to sit at the bottom of the gate for a moment. Then, suddenly, the sea gripped her and the ship shot into the opening.

"We're too far to the left!" Nami suddenly yelled out, "Luffy, we're going to be smashed against the gate!"

"Got it!" shouted Luffy.

He jumped into the air, blew himself up like a balloon.

Hawke watched as her captain fell down in between the gate and the Merry. As the ship hit, Luffy got squished, but his rubber body managed to bounce the Merry into the center of the stream.

As Luffy deflated himself, he flew back onto the deck.

"Luffy, your hat!" cried Hawke, pointing to the straw hat floating away on the wind.

"Hat!" shouted Luffy, stretching his arm out and grabbing it, "That was close, thanks Hawke."

Hawke smiled and let her excitement take over.

"We are sailing _up_ a mountain!" she shouted and flew down to the deck.

While she was descending, a sudden gust of wind hit her and she was knocked off course. With a cry, she fell towards the edge of the ship.

"Hawke!" shouted Zoro and he grabbed onto her hand as she flew by.

The Merry hit a small wave and the bump made Zoro lose his balance. He fell onto the deck, pulling Hawke down with him. She landed on top of him.

"I'm so sorry," Hawke apologized as she moved to get off Zoro's chest, "I should have been more careful since we're in a dangerous place."

"It's fine," grunted the swordsman, then he stopped.

"This is how we met, you know," he said as Hawke stood up.

She blinked, then she smiled.

"I remember," she said, "When you saved me in Loguetown."

"Yeah," said Zoro, "Why were you in the air anyway?"

"I was flying around looking for Luffy," Hawke explained, "I was really high so no one would see me. But then there was a huge gust of green wind and it blew me off course. I tried to fight it but it was to strong and I was really tired, so I hid my wings and fell."

"Well it's a good thing I caught you," grunted Zoro, moving to the front of the ship.

"Yeah," replied Hawke.

She made to follow him when she suddenly felt a hand on her arm.

"Well, well, well, isn't this a special treasure," said a voice.

There was a sudden cry.

The crew, whose attention had been on the water channel, whirled around.

Erik had appeared out of nowhere. He had Hawke in a choke hold and was pointing a knife at her head.

"I come to get my revenge and your head, Strawhat, and look what I find," he stroked Hawke's still outstretched wings, "A priceless treasure that rich men will pay billions of berries for. If I had known you were this special when we captured you, I would have put you under the strictest supervision."

Hawke whimpered and struggled, trying to get out of the man's grasp.

"It's the Okama man again!" said Luffy, who had come down onto the deck, "Let go of my little sister!" he clenched his fists.

"It's Ogama! And I was going to settle for collecting the bounty on your head, but it seems I have had a stroke of luck," Erik cackled, "I will be all set once I have this girl," he tightened his grip around Hawkes neck.

"Get your hands off of her," seethed Zoro, unsheathing his swords.

"Stay back or the girl dies," said Erik, adjusting his knife.

Zoro froze.

"That's it," said the man, "Now I just need to use my scythe powers to get off this ship."

Hawke's face had turned a shade of blue.

"Watch out," shouted Nami, "You'll strangle her!"

"Shut up, little girl," snarled Erik, clenching Hawke tighter.

"Hey weirdo!" shouted Usopp, "Let go of our crew mate!"

He shot at Erik with his slingshot. A cloud of smoke appeared and hid Erik and Hawke from view.

There was a muffled choking noise.

Luffy, Zoro and Sanji ran into the smoke, and then out the other side.

"What?" stammered Luffy, "Where'd Hawke go?"

"Over here, Luffy," they heard a weak little gasp.

Hawke was over by the mast, clinging to it for support. She still looked quite shaken.

"How'd you get over there, Hawke-san?" asked Sanji.

Hawke made a jabbing motion with her elbow.

"A swift one to the stomach," she gasped with a faint smile.

The men looked relieved.

"Good one, Hawke," shouted Nami and Usopp.

The smoke cleared and revealed that Erik had retreated and was standing on the rail of the ship.

"You think one silly hit will stop me?!" he taunted through clenched teeth.

Nami saw her chance.

"Look a Millennium Dragon!" she shouted.

"What? Where?" said Erik, looking frantically in the direction Nami was pointing.

Nami ran over and kicked out one of his feet. The man toppled over the edge and fell into the water.

"Well we don't have to worry about him anymore," said Nami, "I know for a fact that devil fruit users can't swim."

The crew breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hawke," said Luffy, coming over to her, followed by Zoro and Sanji.

Hawke slowly let go of the mast.

"I'm okay," she gasped weakly, rubbing her throat.

She went over to the edge of the ship and held onto the rail.

Sanji went to stand beside Nami. Zoro stayed by the mast.

The crew returned their attention to where they were headed.

"We must be above the clouds now," said Sanji, looking at the mist swirling below them.

"We're so high up," said Luffy, bouncing around in excitement.

He had returned to his place on the Merry's head after making sure Hawke was okay.

Nami glanced forward.

"We're approaching the top of the mountain," she called, "We're going over!"

The crew watched as the top of the mountain came into view. Three different upstreams colliding into a huge upside down waterfall greeted their eyes.

"How are we going to make it through that!" exclaimed Usopp in terror.

"Just watch us!" shouted Nami.

The ship was sent flying into the waterfall. Everyone was screaming and hanging onto the ship for dear life.

Hawke felt her grip slipping.

I still haven't got my strength back, she thought frantically, her fingers trying to find a hold in the wood.

Just then she felt an arm wrap securely around her waist, keeping her steady. She couldn't see who it was through the spray.

It's probably Sanji, she thought, I'll have to thank him later.

Then another current caught the ship and the Merry was on her way downwards.

"Woohoo!" shouted Luffy as the Merry and her crew passed into the first great sea: The Grand Line.


	14. Chapter 14: Flash Forward

**Chapter 14**

**Flash Forward**

Many weeks passed and Hawke found herself a trusted member of the crew. She had shown that she could hold her own in combat and she helped out around the ship in any way she could.

She used her link with birds to find out what the weather patterns were or if there were any small islands or threatening ships in their vicinity. She also enjoyed cleaning, which was greatly appreciated by Nami and Sanji.

Nami enjoyed Hawkes ability to store items on her wings to hide them. There were many times when she would make Hawke hide treasure and money when they were visiting a city so no one would steal it.

Nami and Hawke became very close friends. Since they were the only girls on the crew, they formed a strong bond.

Hawke often slept in Nami's room, much to Sanji's delight, when it was too cold to stay in the crow's nest. There was more than one time when they had caught him trying to peek in under the door at them. Once, Nami had opened the door and dumped a bucket of water on his head. That didn't deter him much though and Nami suggested that they fix up another room in the ship to be her own room.

The Strawhat pirates had had quite a few adventures in the short time since they had crossed over reverse Mountain.

They had helped out a whale named Laboon, who had been ramming his head into the Red Line, trying to break it. After learning Laboon's story, Luffy had fought the whale and made the fight end in a draw. Luffy had then promised to return for a rematch and had painted the strawhat symbol on Laboon's head to keep him from hurting himself.

While this was going on, the crew had also captured two strange people called Mister 9 and Miss Wednesday. They had been trying to kill Laboon for food.

While they were with Laboon, the lighthouse keeper, who was friends with Laboon, had given them a logpose. The logpose was an instrument which would allow them to navigate the Grand Line.

To the crew's dismay, Luffy proceeded to break the logpose. But the Mister 9 and Miss Wednesday had given them theirs, since they wanted to reach the next island safely.

Unfortunately, the island that their logpose directed the crew too was a trap.

They had been lured in and then attacked by Baroque Works, a company that had a huge network of spies that were controlled by one man named Mister 0. They influenced events all over the world and were responsible for trying to cause a war in the kingdom of Alabasta.

While they were trying to escape the Baroques Works employees, Miss Wednesday had given them a surprise. She had ended up being an undercover agent, trying to uncover the identity of Mister 0. Which she had: he was a man named Sir Crocodile.

It turned out she was the princess of Alabasta Kingdom and her real name was Nefeltari Vivi. Luffy had decided to help her return to her country in order to stop the civil war.

On their way to Alabasta Kingdom, they had landed on an island inhabited by ancient dinosaurs and two giants. The giants were locked in a never ending dual to see who had caught the larger sea king fifty years ago.

The crew had run into more Baroques Works employees there: Mister 3 and his partner, Miss Goldenweed. They had been sabotaging the giants dual to make it end and to collect the bounties on their heads.

Mister 3 had wax-wax devil fruit powers and had trapped Nami, Zoro and Vivi. And Luffy had been a victim of Miss Goldenweed's powers of colour that influences a person's mood.

Hawke and Sanji hadn't been directly involved in that battle. They had found a small white house and had been investigating it when a snail phone had gone off. Sanji had answered and had a conversation with Mister 0. This had made Hawke nervous, but Sanji had called himself Mister Prince, so she thought it might be safe since his real identity wasn't revealed.

After that, two creatures had come to the white house. One was a vulture and the other looked like a cat. They had attacked Hawke and Sanji, but the crew mates had easily defeated them and then went to find Luffy and the rest of the crew.

When they finally found everyone, Mister 3 and Miss Goldenweed had already been defeated. So the crew said goodbye to the giants and left the island.

They were then eaten by a giant goldfish. But the giants shot the goldfish through its head, making a path for the Going Merry to sail through the fish to the sea.

Once they were at sea again, Nami had fallen terribly ill. The crew was in a panic and Hawke and Vivi worked tirelessly to try and bring down Nami's fever.

They had anchored at a winter island and begged the inhabitants to bring a doctor to help Nami. The people on the island had denied them and shot at Luffy. But Vivi had refused to use violence and kept begging. Eventually, they had been allowed onto the island.

Hawke had stayed behind on the Merry with Zoro and Vivi's duck, Carue.

Zoro had been showing her some more one-sword techniques and left her practicing while he went swimming in the icy water for his own training. Hawke had been watching him and when she saw him start to swim away from the ship, she had gotten out and followed him on land, bringing his clothes and a towel with her. She had been feeling a bit put out because Zoro seemed to be being very terse to her, not as friendly as he had been before. But she thought it was probably just the cold.

They had found their way to a village that was in the middle of a fight against some soldiers. Hawke and Zoro joined in on the side of the villagers and Hawke had done some impressive knife throwing. She'd even saved Zoro's back a couple times. After the fight, they had helped dig out people who had been buried in an avalanche that had come down from the mountain.

A man with a huge mouth had arrived with more soldiers and gone up the mountain to a castle. Zoro thought they should follow him up, but they had to wait for the lift to return to the bottom of the mountain to take them.

When they finally got up to the top, they found Luffy, Usopp and Sanji had defeated the man with the big mouth. Nami was being treated by a lady doctor who lived in the castle and Luffy had invited the doctors' assistant to join the crew and become the Merry's doctor.

After a little persuasion, the assistant finally accepted and suddenly Hawke wasn't the newest crew member any more.

The new doctor was an interesting creature.

He was a small, blue-nosed reindeer who had eaten a human-human devil fruit and so had human characteristics.

His name was Tony Tony Chopper.


	15. Chapter 15: Doctor's Orders

**Chapter 15**

**Doctor's Orders**

Hawke had lots of fun with Chopper once they'd set sail again.

He seemed to gravitate towards her from the beginning, and he followed the scout everywhere.

She let him help her do the washing and sweep and mop the deck and she gave him rides sometimes, holding him while she flew. And she watched him when he was preparing medicines and treatments.

They were presently in one of the inner rooms of the ship.

Chopper was preparing some sort of medicine and Hawke was sweeping the floor.

"I would love to know more about healing," she told him as she watched him grind up some herbs, "You really know your stuff."

"Aww, don't think that it makes me happy when you say stuff like that," blushed Chopper as he did a little dance.

Hawke laughed and tickled his tummy.

"You are so cute!" she exclaimed.

Just then they heard footsteps outside.

"Hey, Hawke," Zoro stuck his head in the door, "Can you come help me with something?"

"Sure Zoro," smiled Hawke, "I'll be right there."

She put her broom down and went to the door.

"Do you need any help?" asked Chopper, running up behind her.

"I think I'll be alright for now, Chopper," she said and patted him on the head, "You should finish up that medicine you were making. You'll have to teach me what it does later."

Choppers eyes lit up.

"Okay," he said and sat back down at his table.

Hawke emerged out on deck.

"Where's Zoro?" she asked Usopp, who was sitting on the railing.

"I think I saw him go downstairs," said Usopp pointing to a door.

"I wonder what he needs me to help him with down there," muttered Hawke.

She descended into the boys' bedroom and peered through the hanging hammocks.

"Zoro?" she called.

"Over here," she heard him reply.

Making her way through the hammocks, she caught sight of the swordsman in one corner.

"What did you need help with?" she asked, reaching him.

Zoro was bent over a small jumble of objects on the ground.

Hawke came up behind him.

"What's that?" she asked.

Zoro was holding something in his hands.

"This is my private stuff," he said, shuffling the objects around so they were concealed behind his low hanging hammock.

"Oh," said Hawke, surprised.

Zoro held out the object in his hands.

Hawke took it and held it up.

It was a picture frame. Hawke squinted, trying to make out the picture, but the glass of the frame was covered in a black stain and she couldn't see any details.

"You're good at cleaning stuff," muttered Zoro to the floor, "I was wondering if you could get that black stuff off."

Hawke looked down at the picture frame again. The stain didn't look like it would be too hard to get out, but it was old.

"I'll try my best," she said, putting the frame in her pocket.

"And don't let anyone see it," he snapped, then he checked himself, "Uh… please," he finished.

Hawke smiled and blushed.

"Of course I'll keep your private things private," she said.

Zoro looked relieved.

"Thanks," he said, giving her a little smirk.

Zoro led the way back up to the deck.

"Chopper's taken a liking to you, I see," he said as they came out onto the deck and Chopper immediately emerged from inside the ship and ran over to cling to Hawke's leg.

Hawke laughed.

"Yes, he's just the cutest thing," she said, patting the reindeers head.

"Hmph," grunted Zoro.

"And I want him to teach me more about healing," Hawke continued, taking Chopper's hoof.

"Yeah," said Chopper, "I'm going to make Hawke my assistant!"

Zoro lifted an eyebrow.

"Don't you go stealing my student now," he said, leaning over Chopper.

Chopper let out a squeak and hid behind Hawke.

Hawke laughed and Zoro looked back to her.

"Don't worry Zoro, you're still my teacher. Learning about healing will be my side project."

Zoro crossed his arms, looking satisfied with her answer.

"So you want to become a healer?" he asked.

Hawke looked down.

"I want to be able to take care of the people I care about the most," she said to the deck.

"You're already a capable fighter," said Zoro, "You don't have to do everything, that's why we have a doctor now."

Hawke looked up.

"If I can inflict pain," she said, "Then I should be able to heal it as well."

She turned away from Zoro.

"I'll try my best to clean it," she said over her shoulder as Chopper led her back into the ship.

Zoro watched her go.

"What was that about?" he muttered, "She's not usually that serious."

"Well she was really scared when Nami got sick," said Usopp from behind Zoro.

The swordsman spun around.

"Don't surprise me like that!" he shouted, gripping the hilt of his sword.

"Calm down," muttered Usopp, plugging his ears.

Zoro sighed and sat down.

"What were you saying about when Nami was sick?" he asked.

"Hawke was really stressed out about it," Usopp explained, "I mean, way more than any of us. I don't know if you noticed, but she didn't get _any_ sleep until we reached Chopper's island."

"Huh," grunted Zoro, he had noticed the rings under Hawkes eyes.

"It's only natural that she wants to know how to do basic healing," said Vivi, coming down to the deck.

"Hey Vivi," said Usopp.

"Hawke is very sensitive to the emotions of people around her," continued Vivi, "I haven't known her for as long as you guys have, but I can tell that she cares about others a lot more than she cares about herself."

Zoro looked out at the water.

"Has she even taken a break from working since we came over Reverse Mountain?" he asked Usopp.

"Well she's washed my clothes a few times since then," said Usopp, thinking, "And she's cleaned the Merry from top to bottom. I'm pretty sure she mended the fishing rods and she takes the watch all the time."

"But have you seen her take any time for herself, at all?" asked Zoro as he stood up," I mean, do we even know what she likes to do in her spare time?"

Sanji had come out on deck and heard Zoro's question.

"Who hasn't taken any breaks?" asked the cook.

"We're talking about Hawke," said Usopp.

"Hmm," said Sanji, lighting his cigarette, "Now that I think about it, I've never seen Hawke-san just sitting down and relaxing. I would know because if she had, I would have brought her a lovely drink and snack for her to relax with," he finished with hearts in his eyes.

"Shut up cook!" muttered Zoro, but he had a worried look on his face.

Just then Nami called down from her room.

"Hey, Vivi! Can you help me with this map? I'm having trouble locating the exact position of Alabasta from here."

"Be right there," called Vivi and stood up.

She turned back to the group, "Well, I think Hawke is the kind of girl that needs good friends like you to make sure she doesn't exhaust herself," she counseled as she left.

The three men sat in silence for a few moments.

"I'll go check on Hawke-san," swooned Sanji and started towards the door into the ship.

"Don't you dare," snarled Zoro as he cut off Sanji in front of the door, "I'll do it."

"I'll go fish with Luffy," muttered Usopp as he went over to the masthead.

Zoro and Sanji had a stand-off.

"I said I'd only warn you once, cook," spat Zoro, drawing his swords.

"And when have I ever listened to you, you Marimo!" returned Sanji, lifting his leg, "A lady is in need and I shall protect her!"

Zoro raised his sword and Sanji prepared to attack.

Just then, Hawke's laugh came up from the ship.

The two men paused when they heard her voice. Sanji noticed Zoro tense up and prepared himself to kick, but then he saw that the swordsman's attention was no longer on him. He was looking off to the side, with his head tilted towards the stairs.

Sanji stared at Zoro and slowly lowered his leg.

"I better go make supper," he muttered as he stalked off to the kitchen.

Zoro grunted, sheathed his swords and went down the stairs.

He walked down the hall to an open door, where he could hear Chopper and Hawke talking. He didn't go in though, he stayed just outside the door way and looked around the doorframe into the room.

Hawke and Chopper were sitting at a desk covered with herbs, bowls of powder, and mixing equipment.

Chopper was holding an herb up and showing it to Hawke. She was listening intently to what Chopper was saying.

Zoro searched Hawkes face as she focused on the herb.

She had shadows under her eyes and he could tell that she was having trouble keeping them open.

How many nights has she taken the watch? thought Zoro, remembering Usopps comment.

He glanced at her clothes. Her jacket was covered in dirt stains and he could see some scrapes and bruises on her legs.

Zoro was angry with himself. How could he have not noticed this before? How could he not make sure she was taking care of herself? She was a member of the crew after all.

Zoro cleared his throat and walked into the room.

"Oh, hi Zoro," said Chopper as he put the herb back down on the desk.

Hawke stood up, concealing a yawn.

"Hello Zoro, did you need something else?"

Zoro stood in front of Hawke, and looked her up and down.

Hawke blushed and fidgeted with the cuffs on her jacket.

"Zoro don't embarrass Hawke!" flustered Chopper running around at their feet.

Zoro ignored the reindeer.

"You look terrible," he said, looking Hawke in the eye.

"Don't insult her!" shouted Chopper.

Hawke looked down.

"I feel fine," she said, "I just need some supper."

"No," said Zoro.

Hawke stopped and looked up at him.

"You need rest," Zoro continued, "And you need to get your clothes washed," he added, glancing at her clothes.

He turned to Chopper.

"Why haven't you treated Hawkes cuts!" he snapped, "You're a doctor aren't you?"

Chopper's eyes widened and he looked at Hawkes legs. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry Hawke," he cried and ran over to hug her leg, "I should have treated you right away!"

"That's right," said Zoro.

"No no," insisted Hawke, "I'm fine, they're just scrapes-"

"No," interrupted Zoro again.

Hawke was silent.

"Chopper, treat Hawkes wounds," Zoro instructed, "Then you can both come up for dinner. Usopp will take the watch tonight, so you have to get a good night's sleep."

Chopper nodded and started to prepare some bandages.

Zoro stared at Hawke. She stayed standing and didn't seem to want to move to sit down.

"You need to take care of yourself," he told her.

Hawke's shoulders drooped.

"You can't take care of everyone," continued Zoro, "Our crew is strong; we can all take care of ourselves. You don't have to exhaust yourself trying to take care of everyone else and ignoring your own needs. How can we depend on you if you do that?"

Hawke met Zoro's gaze. She was crying softly.

"I just want to make sure that everyone I care about is safe," she sniffled, "I can't stand the thought of losing any of you."

Zoro's expression softened.

"Do you really think that Luffy would let anything happen to his crew?" he asked.

"No," she said, her tears clearing up, "I know Luffy would never let anything happen."

Zoro was looking at his hands.

Hawke took his hand and held it in both of hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Thank you Zoro," she smiled.

Zoro's face immediately flushed, but he didn't protest.

Hawke released his hand.

"Umm…" she started sheepishly, "Could I, maybe, bring dinner to my room?"

She covered up another yawn.

Zoro smirked and looked down at Chopper.

The reindeer had finished bandaging Hawke's legs.

"Good work Chopper," said Zoro, "Come on, Hawke."

Zoro reached out, but then dropped his hand and motioned to the door instead.

"You just go to bed," he said, turning his face away so they wouldn't see his embarrassment, "I'll bring you your meal there."

Hawke smiled.

"Thank you so much, Zoro," she said.

She turned to Chopper.

"Thank you for treating me, Doctor," she said, "You should probably go up to dinner with Zoro."

Chopper blushed and did his little dance. Then he went up to dinner.

Hawke made her way out of Choppers room, following Zoro.

One of the spare room's had been rearranged into a bedroom for Hawke. She had moved out of Nami's room so that Vivi could take her place there.

"Now get to bed," said Zoro, gesturing towards the door of her room, "I'll come right back down with some food."

He turned to go up the stairs. Hawke watched his retreating back and suddenly felt emotion well up in her throat.

"Wait, Zoro!" she called and ran up behind him.

She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face into his back.

Zoro choked and froze. He could feel the warmth of her tears through his shirt.

"Really, thank you," she said through a muffled sob, "No one has ever been this nice to me or thought this much about me in a long time…"

Zoro stuttered.

"Uh-um… don't mention it," he said, grateful that she couldn't see his face.

Hawke slowly let go and took a step back.

Zoro turned to face her, his face bowed.

"I… I don't know what I would do if you got hurt or sick," he muttered, "You need to take good care of yourself… and I'm going to make sure you do."

Hawke's eyes widened and she looked up at Zoro.

He was standing in front of her, his head bowed and his arms crossed over his chest. His fists were clenched. She could tell he was waiting for her to reply.

Hawke bent over and looked up, so she could see Zoro's face.

"I'll be careful from now on," she smiled through her tears, "I need to stay strong to make sure you can count on me."

Zoro raised his head. His face was set but relaxed.

"Well I guess I better get you some food," he said.

They stood facing each other a moment longer. Hawke smiled and wiped away her tears.

"I guess I'll get ready for bed then," she laughed.

Zoro relaxed his arms and smirked. Then he turned and started down the hall.

"I'll be right back," he said over his shoulder as he headed up to the kitchen.

Hawke entered her room and closed the door.

She stayed leaning against the door.

She had never been told to take care of herself. Not even by the marines who had adopted her.

They had had a routine that they kept her on. Training, sleeping, eating, it was all scheduled. She had enjoyed it, and she had been treated nicely.

But Zoro had told her to take care of herself. And he wanted to make sure she did.

Well it was true that if I got sick or injured, I wouldn't be able to help my crewmates, she thought, Zoro was right about that.

Zoro was concerned about her.

Hawke made her way over to her bed, taking Zoro's picture out of her pocket.

I'll clean this right now as a thank you for him, she thought.

As she looked down at the frame, she stopped walking.

What is this feeling? She thought.

She felt warm all over, her heart was beating fast and her breath was shallow. Her hand holding the frame was shaking.

I hope I'm not actually going to get sick now, she thought worriedly.

"Well I'd better get changed then," she muttered, "I don't want to sleep in these dirty clothes. But first I'll get this picture clean."

~Zoro walked into the kitchen. The rest of the crew and Vivi had already sat down.

"Where's Hawke?" asked Luffy, stuffing a chicken leg into his mouth.

"Hawke's resting," said Zoro, "I'll bring her down some food."

"Is Hawke-san sick?" asked Sanji, looking at Chopper.

Chopper shook his head.

"She had some injuries on her legs, but I patched them up already," said the reindeer, "She just needs rest and nourishment. Nobody bother her too much."

Nami and Vivi exchanged worried glances.

"We kept telling her to get more sleep," said Nami, "But she would just laugh it off and tell us she was okay."

"She'll be fine as long as she takes it easy for a few days," Chopper reassured the crew.

"Well anyways," said Zoro as he filled a plate with food, "I'll take this down to her."

He grabbed a cup and filled it with water and headed for the door.

"Oh yeah," he called back over his shoulder, "Usopp, you're on watch tonight."

"What?" shouted Usopp, "I don't even get a say!?"

But Zoro had already gone downstairs.

Nami and Vivi watched him go, then they exchanged looks again, giggling.

"What's up with you two?" muttered Usopp, still scowling after Zoro.

"Zoro certainly takes good care of Hawke, don't you think?" giggled Nami.

"He still has his sickness," said Usopp, "Can't you do anything for him Chopper? Zoro's been like that for a while."

Chopper scratched his head.

"I've never seen these symptoms before," he said, rubbing his chin, thinking.

"Zoro will be fine," said Vivi, smiling, "Just let him take care of Hawke and he should be happy."

"And we'll get to Alabasta within a couple days," said Nami, filling her mug, "So we need Hawke to recover as quickly as she can."

Luffy swallowed and gave a satisfied sigh.

"Hawke'll be fine," he said, reaching for some more food, "She'll just sleep it off. That's what she does when she works too hard."

The crew exchanged relieved glances and continued with their meal.

~Zoro made his way back to Hawke's room without dropping anything.

He reached her door and knocked it with his foot.

"Oh, is that you Zoro?" he heard Hawkes voice from inside, "You're just in time, come in."

The door creaked opened from his knock and Zoro pushed it the rest of the way with his shoulder.

"Here's your dinner," he said as he entered her room, "I hope the cook made a good meal tonight."

Hawke was standing over by her bed. He heard her laugh.

"Sanji always makes a good meal," she said, "Could you help me with this?"

Zoro put down the plate and cup and looked over.

Hawke was standing with her back to him. She had changed into a white night dress, but the back was still undone.

"I can't find where the buttons are," she said, looking over her shoulder at him.

Zoro was staring at her back. Her tattoo stood out particularly sharp against her skin, which was paler than usual.

"Zoro?" Hawke asked, turning a little towards him.

"Uh, sure," Zoro stuttered.

He walked up behind her and started fumbling with the buttons.

"Nami gave this to me," said Hawke into the silence, "I guess it was too small for her."

"Well it fits you perfectly," mumbled Zoro, admiring his view from behind her.

"Aw, thank you Zoro," said Hawke, blushing, but oblivious.

"There," he said, as he finished with the last button, "Now just take it easy for a few days. Doctor's orders."

Hawke turned to face him.

The dress did fit her perfectly. Zoro could tell that this had once been Nami's; the front had a very large, plunging neck line.

"That's supposed to be a night dress?" he said, blushing and lowering his eyes.

Hawke twirled and did a curtsey.

"Isn't it the most beautiful thing?" she laughed, "But I guess you don't really care do you, being a man?"

Zoro's blush intensified.

"Sure, it's a nice dress," he snapped, "Now eat and get to bed."

Hawke stuck out her lip in a pout.

"Okay Master Swordsman," she sighed and went over to her table.

As she settled in to eat, she turned back to Zoro.

"You should probably go join the others upstairs," she said, "I don't want you to miss out on the fun because of me. I'll be fine."

Zoro hesitated.

"Are you sure," he said, "You'll be all by yourself."

"I don't mind," smiled Hawke, "I'm happy. I'll go to bed when I'm done, I promise."

Zoro still hesitated.

Hawke got up and pushed him towards the door.

"Really Zoro, I'll be fine," she said.

"Alright," grumbled Zoro and he stepped into the hall.

"Oh!" exclaimed Hawke, "Wait just one second."

She disappeared back into her room.

"Make up your mind," laughed Zoro as he leaned against the door frame.

Hawke returned and handed him his picture frame.

"Here, I finished cleaning it," she smiled.

Zoro took his picture. He looked through the newly clear glass at the photo beneath.

"It's been a while since I've seen their faces," he muttered.

The photo was of a man with glasses and a long brown pony tail and a small girl with blue hair.

"Are they your family?" asked Hawke.

Zoro looked up.

"No," he said, "The man was my master when I was a child, the girl is his daughter."

"You must miss them," said Hawke, seeing the look on Zoro's face.

"Not really," he said, "She died and he isn't my master anymore."

"Oh," said Hawke, her face falling.

"Don't get worked up about it," snapped Zoro when he saw her reaction, "It didn't happen to you."

Hawke tried to lift her expression, but she didn't fully succeed.

"Besides," said Zoro, "She's the reason that I have my dream," he pointed to the girl in the photo.

"I made a vow with her, that one day, one of us would be the world's greatest swordsman," he explained, looking at the picture.

"I see," said Hawke, and she did understand.

"Thanks for cleaning it so fast," said Zoro, tucking the picture into his waist band.

"Well I was worried because it was such an old stain," smiled Hawke, "But it turned out to be easy to get off."

Zoro smirked.

"Well you should get back to your food," he told Hawke.

"Alright," laughed Hawke, "Tell everyone not to worry."

"Yeah," called Zoro, heading up the steps.

Hawke closed her door and settled back down at her table. She ate as much as she could handle and drank all the water that Zoro had brought down.

He treats me so well, she thought as she put down her mug. He's someone… really special, she blushed at her plate.

It's cute that he keeps that picture, she thought as she got into her bed. That promise must mean the world to him.

She respected that Zoro put his captain and his dream before everything. She felt the same way about Luffy.

And she could appreciate how much Zoro trained, having been training alongside him some of the time.

He had kept his word and had been teaching her more one sword techniques. With his help she had gotten even stronger. She wanted to keep getting stronger, so she could keep up with Zoro and Luffy always be able to have their backs.

Hawke's mind was full of these thoughts as she drifted off to sleep.

She was already in a deep sleep when Zoro came back to collect her plate and cup. So she didn't see him come over to her bedside or feel him stroke her hair before picking up her clothes and leaving the room quietly.


	16. Chapter 16: Alabasta: The Older Brother

**Chapter 16**

**Alabasta: The Older Brother**

Hawke woke up with a luxurious stretch and got out of bed.

"I wonder how long I slept?" she muttered as she looked out her window.

The sun was high in the cloudless, blue sky.

She walked over to the door and opened it.

There was a sudden thump and Zoro fell backwards onto the floor at Hawke's feet.

She stood there, looking down at him.

"Oh, good," Zoro yawned, sitting up, "You're finally awake."

Hawke knelt down.

"What are you doing on the floor?" she smiled at Zoro.

The swordsman's face flushed.

"I was just waiting for you to get up," he spluttered, "You've been in here for two days."

"What?" said Hawke, her eyes widening.

Chopper came out of his room.

"Yay! Hawke's awake!" he shouted and ran over to hug her leg.

"Chopper?" asked Hawke, patting the top of his hat, "How long have I been asleep?"

Chopper let go of her leg and stepped back.

"You've been asleep for all of yesterday and half of this one," said the doctor, "You're body must have been pushed well beyond its limit."

"Oh my," Hawke gasped, "I don't usually sleep that long."

"Luffy told me that you did this often when you were younger," said Chopper nodding, "This isn't a good habit, Hawke. Your body won't be able replenish its energy if you keep staying awake for long periods of time."

Hawke looked ashamed.

"I know it's not normal," she mumbled, "But I wasn't used to deciding when to sleep on my own."

"Well, it was a good thing Zoro told you to sleep when you did," said Chopper and he looked over at the swordsman, he stood on tip toe and whispered into Hawke's ear, "He's been sleeping in front of your door the whole time."

"Really?" Hawke said, and looked up at Zoro.

Zoro met her gaze but said nothing. Hawke blushed and looked back to Chopper.

"Well I think I'll head up to the kitchen," she said, "I'm starving!"

"Wait," said Zoro, fishing something out of his belt, "You should change your clothes first."

Hawke looked down and realized she was still wearing her night dress.

"Oh yes," she blushed, "I can't go out in this."

Zoro handed her a set of clothes.

Hawke took her leather jacket and shorts, then she frowned.

"This isn't mine," she said, holding up a yellow tank-top.

"Uh, yeah I know," muttered Zoro.

Hawke gave him a questioning look.

"Zoro tried to wash your clothes," put in Chopper, pulling on Hawkes dress, "But he shrank your shirt so small, it wouldn't even fit me."

"Shut up!" snapped Zoro.

"You washed my clothes, Zoro?" smiled Hawke, "Thank you so much."

"No, I didn't," glowered the swordsman, "I gave them to Nami… after. Sorry for ruining your shirt."

"Oh it's fine," smiled Hawke, "It was getting to small for me anyways."

She looked at the tank-top again.

"Still," she hesitated, "It's a little skimpier than I would like."

"Well it is Nami's," giggled Chopper.

Hawke smiled down at the reindeer.

"It'll do fine," laughed Hawke, "I'll meet you guys upstairs," she said as she closed her door.

Zoro rounded on Chopper.

"You didn't have to tell her that!" he whispered menacingly.

"But Hawke liked it," whimpered Chopper.

Zoro stopped, then straightened.

"Let's go up on deck," he snapped.

Chopper followed the swordsman up onto the deck of the Merry.

When Hawke joined them, she was greeted by the view of a city.

"Where are we?" she gasped in awe as she went over to the railing and looked out at the scenery.

"We made it to Alabasta this morning," said Zoro, who was leaning on the railing.

The kingdom of Alabasta was a desert kingdom. There was sand everywhere and the heat of the sun beat down on the land. Hawke could already feel herself getting sweaty.

"Phew," she said, wiping her forehead, "It sure is hot."

Hawke reached up and tied her hair back in a ponytail to get it off her neck.

She looked around.

"Where is everybody else?" she asked, glancing across the deck.

"They all went into the city to get supplies," said Chopper, hanging off the railing, "We're leaving the Merry here and walking to another city. Vivi's in a real hurry to get to the rebel leaders camp."

"We were going to stay here until you woke up, and then go meet up with the others," said Zoro.

"Should we go now then?" asked Hawke, "I must have kept you all waiting."

"Yeah, let's go," said Zoro, swinging over the railing and onto the ground.

Chopper changed into his most human form and jumped onto the ground. Hawke climbed over the railing and lowered herself down.

"Alright," said Hawke, "Let's go find the rest of the crew."

The three set off towards the city.

Hawke stared at the bustling streets around her. The citizens were going about their daily business, casting curious glances at the trio as they walked by.

"This is an amazing place," said Hawke, staring up at the buildings.

Zoro grunted.

"I can't stand this heat," panted Chopper, he was in his walking point form, "I was made for cold places."

Hawke gave Chopper a sympathetic look.

"Why don't you go find a nice shady place," she told the reindeer, "We'll catch up with you later."

"Okay," mumbled Chopper, and he wandered away.

Hawke watched him disappear into the crowd.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" she asked, turning to Zoro.

He wasn't there.

"Zoro?" called Hawke, "Where did he go?"

She tried picking him out of the crowd. But it was no use. Zoro was nowhere to be seen.

"Did he get lost already?" she wondered.

Hawke's stomach grumbled.

"I need to find a place to eat," she muttered.

Hawke made her way down the street. Suddenly, an aroma caught her attention.

"Mmm," she said, "That smells delicious!"

She made her way down the street to a restaurant.

"Perfect," she smiled and pushed the door open.

Hawke entered a brightly lit, average looking room. There were many tables, most of them occupied, and a large bar at the back.

Hawke made her way to the bar and sat down.

"Could I have something to eat, please?" she asked the barkeep.

"Of course little lady," said the man behind the bar, "But I think you should find another seat," he added in a lower voice, tilting his head towards the end of the bar.

Hawke glanced over. There was another man sitting at the end of the bar. He didn't look like he was from Alabasta. He had a large orange hat, dark shorts and wasn't wearing a shirt.

Hawke's eyes widened. There was a large tattoo covering the man's back. It was a large purple cross with a white skull placed in its center. The skull was distinguished by a large, half-moon, mustache.

That's Whitebeard's mark! She thought, and judging by that hat, this must be his second division commander: Fire-Fist Ace!

Then something clicked in Hawke's mind. Ace… Luffy had said that his older brother's name was Ace.

Hawke glanced around the bar. All the other occupants were watching the man distrustfully.

"Fire-Fist Ace?" she asked to the man at the end of the bar, her heart began pounding.

The man stopped eating and turned towards her.

"Who are you, cutie?" the man asked.

"You are Fire-Fist Ace?" asked Hawke again, breathlessly.

"Yeah, that's me," Ace muttered as he turned his attention back to his food.

Hawke glanced at one of Ace's plates.

"I'll have some of that," she said, pointing to the plate.

The barkeep nodded.

"Be careful, Miss," he cautioned.

Hawke got up and moved to a stool closer to Ace.

"Do you know Monkey D. Luffy?" she asked quietly.

Ace choked on his food and swallowed.

He met Hawkes gaze, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket.

He held up the paper. It was Luffy's wanted poster.

"You could say I'm looking for him," he said.

Hawke stared at the poster. She doubted that this man was a bounty hunter.

"He said he had an older brother…" she said casually, looking over the top of the poster at Ace.

His eyes widen.

"Is he here?!" he asked eagerly, "How do you know him?"

Hawke smiled. So he was Luffy's brother! That means that she had found her other brother!

"He's my captain," she said excitedly, "I know that he's here somewhere, but I'm not sure exactly where."

Ace laughed.

"That sounds like him," he said, returning to his plate, "It looks like he's doing okay for himself," he added, eyeing her.

Hawke blushed. How should I tell him? She thought.

"Oh no, it's nothing like that," she spluttered, "I'm the scout."

She stared at him. He looked even cooler than she had imagined him. No wonder Luffy looks up to him so much, she thought.

Hawke opened her mouth to say something, then stopped. What exactly was she going to say?

Ace finished his plate and put down his fork.

"I'd like to see my weak little brother again," he said, leaning back and looking at the ceiling, "I have a bit of time to spend with him while I'm here."

"That'd be great!" exclaimed Hawke, smiling.

Now I can get to know my oldest brother! She thought excitedly.

Just then, someone else entered the restaurant.

Hawke heard the other occupants gasp and start muttering amongst themselves.

She turned to see who had come in.

"The marines?" she gasped, "What are they doing here?"

She sensed Ace tense up.

"Well, well, well," said one of the marines as he came forward, "Not the pirate I was looking for, but you're even better."

The marine that had spoken was a very large, muscular man. He had white hair and was smoking two cigars.

Ace turned on his stool.

"What business does an infamous pirate like you have in this country?" asked Smoker

"I'm searching for my little brother," said Ace.

There was a pause.

"What should I do?" asked Ace sarcastically.

"Sit there and let me arrest you," said Smoker.

"Rejected," laughed Ace.

Hawke stood up. She wasn't going to let her brother slip away just after she'd met him. He didn't even know who she was yet!

"He hasn't done anything wrong," she said, standing between Ace and Smoker.

"What are you doing?" muttered Ace.

Smoker raised an eyebrow.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"I just met her," Ace shrugged.

Hawke glanced back over her shoulder. And I don't want this to be the last time you meet me, she thought.

"Hmph," grunted Smoker, "You're not from around here either, are you?"

Hawke met the marines gaze.

"No, I just arrived in this city," she said.

"Well, where did you come from?" asked Smoker.

Hawke knew he was trying to get information from her.

"The East Blue," she replied.

"Hmm," said Smoker, "You wouldn't, by any chance, know a pirate by the name of Straw Hat Luffy?"

Hawke stood a little taller. She wasn't going to lie about this in front of Ace.

"As a matter of fact," she stated, "He's my captain!"

The marine sighed.

"It's a shame I have to arrest you too," he said, and suddenly his fist turned into smoke.

Hawke stepped backwards, reaching into her jacket.

Just then there was a huge crashing noise at the front of the restaurant. Smoker suddenly shot forwards, hitting Hawke, who then hit Ace.

The sandwiched trio was slammed through the back wall of the restaurant. The force of whatever had hit them shot them through three more buildings before they hit a wall and collapsed in a heap.

"Ouch," whimpered Hawke.

She was stuck in between Smoker and Ace.

Upon hearing her whimper, the two men started moving. Ace got up and looked back towards the restaurant.

"Asshole," he seethed, "Who the hell was that?"

He started stalking back towards the restaurant.

Smoker got up and pulled Hawke out of the rubble.

"Can you stay on your feet?" he asked, waving a couple of marines over.

Hawke put pressure on her left ankle and her knee buckled. She shook her head.

"You two!" commanded Smoker to the marines who had just showed up, "Arrest this girl, but be careful, she's injured."

No, Hawke thought, I can't get caught now.

She wriggled free of Smoker's grip.

"I have no choice," she whispered and she spread her wings.

"What the hell!" shouted Smoker and he grabbed out, trying to get a hold of Hawke.

She beat her wings and flew up into the air.

"Catch that girl!" shouted Smoker.

Hawke looked down and saw a group of marines separate from the squad and start following her.

She flew faster.

"I need to find the others," she muttered, searching the streets below.

Suddenly, her search was cut short. She was hit from behind and found herself surrounded in a net.

"What?!" she cried as she fell towards the ground.

Hawke landed with a thump in a cloud of dust. She groaned and brought her wings back into tattoo form.

"We got her," she heard a man say, "She must be a devil fruit user. She won't be able to do anything in that net."

"Good work," she heard another voice say, "Now we have to get her to the Boss."

"Are you sure it's her he wants?" asked the other man.

"He said he wanted one of the Strawhat crew," replied the man, "She said that Strawhat was her captain."

"Alright," said the other.

Hawke felt herself being picked up and thrown over a shoulder.

"Let me go!" she cried, trying to twist out of the net.

"Calm down, Sweet Heart," the man carrying her said, "We have a long trip ahead of us. You don't want to exhaust yourself now."

The other man laughed.

"And don't think about trying anything," he said, "That's a sea prism net. You can't use your devil fruit powers in there."

As she was struggled for freedom, Hawke thought about her situation.

They thought she had devil fruit powers. That was an advantage she could use to surprise them later on and maybe free herself.

Why had she let herself get caught again?!, she thought. Now I'm of no use to Luffy. She hung her head.

Just then, her surroundings caught her attention.

"Wait a second," she said, "Why aren't we going to the harbor? Isn't that where your ship is?"

The men laughed.

"We aren't marines, Sweet Heart," the man carrying her said, "We're taking you to our Boss, Mister 0."

Hawke gasped.

"Mister 0!" she cried, "You're from Baroque Works aren't you! Let me go!"

She started struggling even harder.

"Hey, stay still!" grunted the man carrying her.

Hawke twisted her body one more time and managed to loosen the man's grasp.

He dropped her and she fell onto the ground. Hawke's head cracked against a rock and she cried out in pain.

"Don't hurt her," cautioned the other man, "The Boss will be angry if she's too damaged."

Hawke groaned as she was lifted into a sitting position.

"She sure is a cute one," said one of the men. Hawke could see that he was wearing a red shirt.

"We should take her out of that net," said the other man, who was wearing a blue bandana, "She'll be easier to carry."

The man in the red shirt reached inside the net and put handcuffs on Hawke.

He was surprised when she didn't try to fight back.

"She doesn't look so good," he said, taking the net off her head.

Hawke was staring straight ahead, her eyes glazed. She was having trouble focusing and her head was pounding.

The man with the bandana waved his hand in front of her face.

Hawke focused on the hand.

"I … think I hit my head," she mumbled before slumping forward.

"Geez!" said the man, catching her.

"Well she'll be really easy to carry now," said the man in the red shirt, hoisting her up on his shoulder again, "Come on, we have to get out of this city before dark."

The two men set off again, carrying Hawke out into the desert.


	17. Chapter 17: Hawke's Missing!

**Chapter 17**

**Hawke's Missing!**

Zoro had found the rest of the crew and was waiting in the shade of some ruined buildings with them.

"Here they are," said Vivi, looking down the street.

Sanji and Chopper had returned with supplies.

Chopper flopped down into the shade, panting.

"It's too hot," gasped the reindeer.

Zoro looked down the street, then back at the doctor.

"Where's Hawke?" he asked, "Wasn't she with you Chopper?"

"I thought I left her with you," said Chopper, cooling off a little.

"You guys wandered off," muttered Zoro, glancing back towards the city.

"You're the one who wandered off Zoro!" yelled Chopper.

"Whatever," the swordsman grunted, "It isn't safe to be out there alone. I saw the marines from Loguetown and a pirate from Whitebeards crew looking for Luffy."

"What?" gasped Nami, "Smoker followed us all the way from Loguetown?!"

Just then they heard a commotion.

The crew peeked out over the wall of the ruined building.

"It's probably just some dumb pirate," said Sanji, lighting a cigarette.

"A dumb pirate?!" exclaimed Usopp

"Yeah, that's him," said Nami, catching sight of a red shirt and the straw hat, "And he's brought some marines with him."

"Hey guys! There you are!" waved Luffy, and he changed his course.

"No don't come over here!" shouted Nami.

"Run!" shouted Zoro.

"Damn you, Luffy!" shouted Usopp.

The crew picked up their supplies and ran towards the desert.

"Get back here Strawhat!" they heard Smoker's voice yell over the noise.

Suddenly a fist made of smoke towered over Luffy.

The captain ran as fast as he could, but the fist was bearing down on him.

Just as the smoke reached out to grab Luffy, a burst of flame appeared out of nowhere and stopped Smoker's attack in its tracks.

Suddenly, a man appeared between the marines and the Strawhats, parts of his body seemed to be on fire.

"Ace?" gasped Luffy, "Ace!"

"You never change, Luffy," the man said over his shoulder, "You go on ahead, I'll catch up with you later."

"Okay," said Luffy and immediately turned and ran down a side street.

"Who was that?" asked Vivi, "Someone you knew?"

"That's my brother!" yelled Luffy, catching up to them.

"Brother!?" shouted the rest of the crew, in shock.

"You never told me you had a brother," said Nami.

"Yeah," laughed Luffy.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised," muttered Zoro, "But what's he doing on the Grand Line?"

"Ace is a pirate," laughed Luffy, "He left three years before me to find the One Piece."

"Eh?!" the crew exclaimed in disbelief.

The crew made it back to the Merry without getting spotted by the Marines again.

"Well that was an abrupt start," said Usopp, bringing his bag into the kitchen.

"We only stopped here to get supplies," said Vivi, helping him.

The crew rushed around the ship, preparing to set sail.

"Alright," said Nami, "Let's go!"

There was a pause.

"I feel like we're missing someone," muttered Usopp.

"And the one we're missing is the most important," glowered Nami.

"That idiot!" growled Sanji.

"And Hawke's still not here," said Zoro, suddenly.

The crew froze.

"Yeah," said Usopp, "Hawke's missing too. We should be more worried about her."

"We should be more worried about us right now," snapped Nami, "We'll set sail and find a place to hide where the marines won't find us. Then we'll look for Luffy and Hawke."

The ship was underway and sailing towards a small cove that Vivi thought they would be able to hide the Merry in.

Nami was up in the crow's nest.

Suddenly she called down.

"I can see him!"

"Really?" asked Usopp.

"That's definitely him," muttered Zoro, glancing over to shore, "And he's got that dumb look on his face."

Luffy stretched out his arm and catapulted himself over to the Merry, smashing into Sanji and Chopper.

"Oh, sorry guys," laughed Luffy.

"You idiot!" snarled Sanji, "Do you know how much trouble you've caused?"

Just then Ace appeared on the rail of the ship.

After some short introductions, the crew invited Ace on board for some tea.

But then, some Baroque Works ships came out of nowhere and started attacking the Merry.

"I'll handle this," Ace said and jumped into his own little, fire-powered boat.

The crew looked on in awe as Fire-Fist Ace destroyed five ships with a single blow.

"Wow!" exclaimed Usopp, his jaw hitting the floor.

The way was cleared and the Going Merry sailed through and on towards the next harbor Vivi wanted to land at.

Ace was heading to the same city that the Strawhats were.

"I'm looking for a man named Blackbeard," he explained, "And I heard he was seen in Yuma."

"That's where the rebel army is based," said Vivi, "I want to reach the city as soon as possible."

"This'll be a fun trip, right Ace?" laughed Luffy.

"Sure," smiled the older brother.

Then he looked around.

"I thought that cutie from the restaurant said she was your scout… I guess she was lying," he shrugged.

Luffy froze.

"Where's Hawke?!" he shouted.

"We haven't seen her since before you made the marines chase after us," said Zoro quickly, then glared over at Luffy's brother.

"Wait," said Nami, looking at Ace, "How do you know about Hawke?"

"She was at the restaurant I was eating at, the one Luffy crashed into," explained Ace, jumping onto the railing and taking a seat, "She must have recognized me because she asked me about you, Luffy."

Luffy gave him a small, one sided smile.

Ace looked startled.

Luffy's really upset, he thought.

"Well why didn't you bring her here?" snapped Zoro, looking back towards the town.

"I forgot about her after Luffy smashed me through three houses," Ace said, "I got distracted."

The crew looked back at the vanishing city.

"There sure were a lot of marines there," said Chopper nervously, "What if they caught Hawke?!"

"She'll be fine," said Luffy, but he was also looking worriedly back the way they had come.

"Oh, I just remembered," said Ace suddenly, "I heard some marines talking about how two of their troop members had disappeared with a captive. Maybe they caught her and kidnapped her."

"What?!" exclaimed Usopp.

"Why would you say such mean things," wailed Chopper, "We need to rescue Hawke!"

"Wait," said Vivi, she had been silent until now, "Going on what Ace just said, I think that this might have something to do with Baroque Works."

"What do you mean?" asked Zoro.

"Well, you've interfered with a lot of their plans because of me," said Vivi, looking at Luffy, "They know most of your crew and they'll want to make sure you don't ruin the most important part of their plan. They might have kidnapped Hawke to have some leverage on you to make you stay back."

Luffy's face darkened.

"They took my little sister?!" he muttered.

"Wait," Ace gawked, "That girl was your little sister?!"

Now it makes sense, he thought.

"Yeah," said Luffy, turning to Ace.

"Shouldn't you have recognized her?" asked Usopp.

"I've never seen her before," said Ace, "Luffy only told me about her."

"Well what do we do now?" asked Zoro, pacing back and forth.

"I think we should continue on the way we planned," said Vivi.

"What?" sobbed Chopper, flailing his arms, "And just leave Hawke?"

"She can defend herself," said Vivi, "Plus, we don't know where she is and she doesn't know where we are. We would only be losing time."

Luffy looked back towards the city.

"If Baroque Works has taken her, they'll bring her to Crocodile…" he muttered.

"Yes," said Vivi.

"And he's the guy who's ass I have to kick anyways," Luffy muttered again.

"Yeah," said Zoro.

Luffy was silent for a few moments.

"Then it's settled," said the captain, turning to face the crew, "We'll keep going. We're going to get to Crocodile anyways, and Vivi needs to move fast. I know Hawke can take care of herself."

"Okay Captain," said Sanji, "We will hurry to help Vivi-san and save Hawke-san."

"Alright," muttered Zoro, "But only because Hawke can fight for herself."

Ace watched the crew as they agreed on their captain's decision and smiled. His little brother had found strong nakama who could protect him. He felt that he could worry a little less now.

Then he frowned.

Why hadn't Hawke told him that she was Luffy's little sister? He definitely wouldn't have forgotten about her if she had, he would have made sure she got out of there safely.

He watched as Luffy went to sit on the sheep's head. He could tell that Luffy was much more worried about Hawke than he let on.

Ace smiled.

He knew exactly how Luffy felt right now, and he was kind of proud that Luffy could feel like that for someone else.

He walked over to the base of the masthead.

"If she's anything like you said she was, back then," he said, looking out towards the horizon, "She'll be there waiting for you when you finally get to Crocodile."

He heard Luffy shift in his position.

"Yeah," he muttered, then looked down at Ace and smiled, "Let's go have food!"

Luffy jumped down and ran towards the kitchen.

"Sanji!" he shouted.

"Yeah," said Sanji, immerging from the kitchen then walking over to the rail, "Supper's ready Nami-san, Vivi-san."

"Coming," said Vivi.

The crew made their way to the galley for a dinner that was quieter than usual.


	18. Chapter 18: Tank and Bran

**Chapter 18**

**Tank and Bran**

Hawke slowly regained consciousness. She became aware of a pain in her head and a weight on her hands.

_Oh right_, she thought, _they cuffed me_.

She slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings.

It was dark. She was propped against a rock, facing a clearing with a small fire going in its center.

The two men who had kidnapped her were sitting close to the fire.

Hawke could smell their meal cooking. Her stomach growled loudly, she hadn't had a chance to eat at the restaurant.

The men turned around when they heard her stomach.

"Oh, look," said the one with the red shirt, "Our dark angel is awake."

"And she sounds hungry," said the man with the blue bandana.

He got up and carried a bowl over to her.

"Here," he said, putting the bowl down in front of Hawke, "We can't let you die on us."

Hawke stayed still, staring up at the man.

He seemed to grow uncomfortable and went back to sit by the fire.

Hawke looked down at the bowl. It was full of stew.

_It does smell good_, she thought as her stomach grumbled again.

Hawke reached out and picked up the bowl with her hands. It was a little tricky with the handcuffs, but she managed to drink the stew. She finished her meal quickly and got up.

_Oh good_, she thought, _my ankle feels fine now_.

Hawke looked down and noticed that her legs weren't chained. She quickly glanced around. They had brought her to what seemed to be the middle of the desert. There was nothing but sand for miles in every direction.

"There's no chance of you surviving if you ran away from us," said one of the men over his shoulder at her.

Hawke looked towards him, then back out to the desert. A sudden wind blew through the clearing and chilled Hawke to her bones.

_He's probably right_, she thought, rubbing her already cold fingers together_, even if I flew away, I wouldn't make it far in the heat_. She shivered, _or in this cold_.

She looked over at the fire again. And, swallowing her pride, walked quietly over to the warmth.

"Look who's come to join us," said the man with the red shirt, "We have some fine company now, Bran. Tuck in your shirt."

Bran laughed and looked at Hawke.

"You won't survive the night if you spend it all by yourself," he had an uncomfortable glint in his eye, "You'll have to get cozy with us if you don't want to freeze."

Hawke stiffened and looked at the man. He was looking at her with eager eyes.

She shivered and stepped back.

"Don't scare her off," said the man in the red shirt.

"I was just having some fun," laughed Bran, "It isn't often that we get such a nice looking captive."

Hawke took another step back and looked out at the desert, reweighing her options.

"You're going to make her try to run away," complained the man, "Then we'll waste more time trying to find her again."

"Fine," muttered Bran, going back to his food.

"Come sit down, lovely," said the other man, "My name is Tank, this is my fellow billion, Bran."

Hawke came forward again, but stayed standing.

"And what is your name, Dark Angel?" asked Tank.

Hawke eyed them both warily. She definitely didn't feel safe. She decided to stay silent.

"What's wrong?" taunted Bran, "You were so eager to talk when we caught you."

Hawke glared at him and he became silent.

She sat down, across the fire from the two men, warming her hands and arms.

They were both watching her.

"That's a unique power you have," said Tank finally.

Hawke looked at him.

"What devil fruit did you eat?" asked Bran.

Hawke thought quickly.

"The Feather-Feather fruit," she said, hoping that sounded real.

"Cool," said Bran, "And now that you're talking again. What's your name?"

Hawke grew silent again.

"She's a stubborn one," laughed Tank, scraping the leftovers of his bowl into the fire.

"You would be too if you'd been kidnapped," snapped Hawke.

Bran laughed.

"That's true," he said, also scraping out his bowl.

Another gust of wind blew in through the rocks. Hawke shivered.

"You aren't exactly dressed for the desert, sweet heart," said Tank.

Hawke looked at the two men. They were both wearing robes over their clothes and had head covers on. Then she looked down at her clothes. She was still wearing her shorts, her leather jacket and Nami's tank top.

She pulled the neck line of the tank top up and folded the corners of her jacket together, wrapping them around her body.

"You really will freeze, if you stay like that," sneered Bran.

Hawke jerked her head around to face him.

"Just keep the fire going, I'll be fine," she snapped.

"Alright," said Bran, turning away.

Hawke watched as they both dragged out two sleeping bags and placed them around the fire.

The men got into their beds and settled down for the night.

Hawke stayed awake, watching the fire dance.

_What a mess I've gotten into_, she thought. _I'm sorry Luffy, I should have met up with you guys when I had the chance. Now where are you? _

Hawke looked up at the stars. She knew that Luffy would continue with Vivi's quest, he would trust her to be alright by herself for now.

Just then a thought struck her. _She was being taken to Mister 0, Crocodile._

That was the same man that they needed to defeat to help Vivi save her kingdom. So if she stayed near Crocodile, Luffy would definitely come and fight him, then she could rejoin her crew.

Hawke smiled and brought her eyes back down to the fire. She had a plan. She'd stay a captive and try to stay close to Crocodile and wait for Luffy to come.

She watched the shadows dance on the rocks. The swirling patterns slowly lulled her into a doze. She slumped sideways onto the ground and fell asleep.

Hawke woke up shivering violently. The fire had burnt low and the wind had picked up. She propped herself up and looked around for her captors. They were both snoring, wrapped up in their sleeping bags.

Hawke got up and made for the pile of twigs at the edge of the clearing. She picked up as many as she could with her cuffed hands and threw them on the fire, which immediately flared up and regained its warmth.

_Geez its cold_, she thought and tried rubbing her arms to get some feeling back into them.

Hawke started bouncing up and down, trying to generate some heat.

Her movements caused one of the men to wake up.

"Told you you'd be cold like that," said Bran, sitting up.

"Well if you'd been minding the fire, it wouldn't have gotten so cold," snapped Hawke, then she lowered her face.

_I shouldn't be so ungrateful_, she thought, _they did feed me and I am still alive._

"Sorry," she said out loud.

Bran looked surprised.

"That's alright," he said, then he paused, "You know, we aren't evil and mean. We're just following orders."

Hawke looked at him. _That's still no reason for me to trust you_, she thought.

"How far do you have to take me?" she asked, still jumping.

"About six days travel, if we keep our speed up," replied Bran.

Hawke groaned and shivered again.

Bran glanced at her.

"You know," he said, lifting the edge of his blanket, "You could always cuddle in with us."

"No, thank you!" spluttered Hawke, blushing.

"Aww, come on," said Bran, "You'll catch cold out there with nothing but shorts on."

Hawke looked at his blanket. It did look warm.

"I can't," she flustered, "I wouldn't be comfortable."

"You mean being close to a man?" asked Bran in a taunting voice, "Come on, sweet heart, I won't bite."

"He might, you know," Tank laughed, the conversation had woken him up.

"But seriously, sweetie," said Tank, turning towards Hawke, "You will get sick if you don't get warm now."

"Don't you have an extra blanket," pleaded Hawke, she really didn't want to sleep with either of them, she'd rather freeze.

"No, we don't," said Bran, crossing his arms.

"But I'm sure Bran would gladly give up his for a beautiful girl such as yourself," said Tank, looking at Bran.

"What?!" exclaimed Bran, "No way, it's freezing out."

"And how do you think she's feeling right now?" persuaded Tank.

Bran looked over at Hawke.

She was leaning very close to the fire and was still hopping up and down.

"Why can't she just come sleep in here with me?" he whined.

"Just give her your blanket," said Tank.

Bran sat debating to himself for a few seconds. Then he reached a decision and grumpily threw his blanket over to Hawke.

Hawke caught it.

"Oh thank you so much!" she exclaimed, trying to wrap it around herself. But he hands were still stuck together and she just ended up dropping it.

"Oops," she said, blushing and trying to reach down to pick it back up.

"She's a cutie," laughed Tank, getting up, "Here, lie down and I'll cover you."

Hawke blushed.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

Once she was covered, and Tank had settled back into his sleeping bag, Hawke felt quite warm. She quickly fell asleep again and didn't wake until the sun peeked over the horizon.

Hawke was shaken awake the next morning by Tank.

"Wakey-wakey, Princess," he said, "We're packing up camp."

Hawke blearily opened her eyes to the bright sun.

"Wow, it's hot," she said, suddenly registering the temperature and throwing off Bran's blanket.

"You really aren't used to the desert are you?" teased Bran, picking up his blanket and putting it into a pack.

"I only got to this land yesterday," said Hawke, "And before that we were on a winter island."

"Well, here," said Bran, giving her another bowl, "Eat up. We need to start moving soon."

Hawke took the bowl, then lost her grip and dropped it, spilling the soup onto the sand.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking down at her mess, "It's just really hard to do things with these handcuffs."

"Well, you'll have to manage," said Bran, filling up the bowl again.

"I won't run away, I promise," pleaded Hawke, raising her hands, "Please take them off."

"No way," said Bran, "You'd just fly away."

"Do you think I could fly away in this heat?" asked Hawke, "I would last longer running away on foot."

Bran looked at her doubtfully.

Hawke sighed and took her bowl back. She sat down and drank her soup quickly.

"Thanks," she said, holding the bowl up for Bran.

Tank had already packed up the food and supplies.

"Can you walk now?" he asked her.

Hawke nodded, wiggling her ankle at him for proof.

"Well come on then," he said and started out of the clearing.

Hawke followed and Bran took up position behind her.

They walked all day.

By lunch time Hawke was way too hot. She had to get Bran to undo her handcuffs so she could take off her jacket.

Bran blinked at her as her back was exposed.

"Nice tattoo," was all he said.

Hawke blushed and just kept walking. She was way too hot to care about who saw her tattoo. All she could think about was finding somewhere nice and cool.

By the time the sun started to sink towards the horizon, Hawke was at the end of her strength. She fell onto the sand and couldn't get up.

"Come on, lovely," said Tank, helping her up, "We're almost there."

Hawke stumbled on and finally reached another rock outcropping, where she collapsed again in the shade.

"Our captive isn't doing so well," muttered Bran to Tank.

"If it keeps going on like this," said Tank, looking over at Hawkes tired body, "She won't make it. We'll have to carry her tomorrow."

"Why do we always get the hardest assignments," complained Bran.

"Don't ask me," said Tank, "But at least we got a nice member of their crew and not the swordsman or the cook."

"That's true," admitted Bran, glancing back at Hawke, "How could a nice, pretty girl like that be part of the Strawhat Pirates?"

Tank shrugged.

"Bring her this," he held out a canteen to Bran, "Make sure she takes little sips."

Bran brought the water over to where Hawke was lying down.

"Here," he said, helping her into a sitting position, "Drink this."

Hawke grabbed the canteen and gulped down the water.

"Hey, hey," said Bran, taking the canteen away, "Don't rush, you'll get sick."

Hawke slumped onto his shoulder.

"Thank you so much," she said in a raspy whisper.

Bran looked down at Hawkes' face.

She was very sunburnt and her hair was plastered to her sweaty forehead. She looked really pitiful.

He picked her up and brought her over to where Tank was making the fire.

Hawke groaned when she felt the sunlight on her skin again.

"Calm down," he said and put her down.

Tank took a small bottle out of his pack and brought it over to Hawke.

"Will you let me put this on your burn?" he asked.

Hawke opened her eyes to see what he was holding up. It looked safe enough.

She nodded.

Tank put some cream on his finger tips and massaged it into the burnt skin on Hawkes cheeks and shoulders.

She sighed as the cream cooled her skin and soothed her blisters.

"Thank you," she whispered, lying back onto the sand.

It was cool now. The shadows of the rocks were rapidly lowering the temperature.

"She can't go on for five more days like this," muttered Tank, "And we didn't travel as fast today, it'll take us longer than we anticipated."

"We need to keep her relatively healthy for the Boss," said Bran, a worried look on his face.

"We'll have to carry her and keep her wrapped up in your blanket so the sun doesn't get to her," said Tank.

"Why mine?" muttered Bran.

"Quit whining," said Tank, then he looked at Hawke, "I have some good news for you, Bran."

Bran perked up.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Our Dark Angel will have to sleep with one of us tonight," said Tank, "She won't be able to handle the cold again."

"Really?!" exclaimed Bran, looking eagerly at Hawke.

She was lying on the ground and seemed to be dozing. One of her tank-top straps had fallen off her shoulder.

Tank watched his partner.

"I think she should stay with me tonight," he said.

"What?" said Bran, "Why you? It was my idea first."

"And that's why I should take her first," said Tank, putting his hand on Bran's shoulder, "You might get too excited."

Bran folded his arms and sat there pouting.

Tank turned his attention towards Hawke. She had started shivering again.

"We should get her in bed now," he said, "Bran, can you start dinner?"

Bran grumbled, but he took out the pots and began cooking.

Tank got out his sleeping bag and carried Hawke over to it.

Hawke was able to keep her eyes open now, and she gave Tank a questioning look.

"Why are you putting me here?" she asked.

"You won't be able to stand the cold tonight, Lovely," said Tank, "You'll have to sleep with me so you don't freeze."

Hawke started to sit up.

"No, no!" she exclaimed, "I don't want to do that!"

Hawke's burn on her shoulder began to crack. She whimpered and held her injury.

"Don't get excited," said Bran, "You'll hurt yourself. It's his bed or mine."

He looked over at her with hopeful eyes.

Hawke quieted down and stayed where she was, pulling the blanket awkwardly up to her chest.

Bran went back to stirring, glowering at the stew.

They ate in silence.

Bran was still glaring at the fire. Hawke was busy trying to eat without spilling. And Tank was watching Hawke's attempts.

He laughed when she dribbled down her chin and had to bend her arm awkwardly to try and wipe up her mess.

"How did a cute thing like you end up on a pirate crew?" asked Tank.

Hawke lowered her bowl.

"Someone made me a promise a long time ago," she said, "And I finally made them keep it."

"Huh?" said Bran, "That's not a very good explanation."

"I'm sailing around the world with my friends," said Hawke, "And that makes me happy. My dream is to sail to the end of the Grand Line. It just happened by chance that my friends turned out to be pirates."

She looked at the two men sitting across from her.

"Why are you working for Baroque Works? And why does Mister 0 want me?" she asked.

The men exchanged looks.

"The Boss wanted a Strawhat crew member, it was just by chance that we caught you," said Tank, "We have no idea what he wants with you."

"And we started as millions," put in Bran, "We joined for the money and we're trying to work our way up to the Numbers."

"Well, they'll be looking for replacements for Mister 5, Mister 8 and Mister 9," said Hawke, finishing her stew.

"How do you know that?" asked Tank.

"We defeated them," said Hawke, _kind of_, she added to herself.

"What?" Bran gasped.

"Our crew is really strong," she said, putting down her bowl.

"They must be, to take down the Numbers," muttered Tank.

They were looking at Hawke warily.

She stared back at them, covering up a yawn.

"You're too cute to be part of a fearsome pirate crew," said Bran, shaking his head.

"I'm pretty strong," said Hawke defiantly, rubbing her eyes.

"I'll believe that when I see it," laughed Bran, "A little thing like you can't do that much damage. I mean, you barely weigh anything and you're not exactly muscular."

Hawke stuck out her tongue at him.

"Well it's time for bed then," laughed Tank and he headed over to where Hawke was sitting.

Hawke wriggled away from the approaching man.

"Please," she whimpered, "I'll be fine by myself."

"No, you won't," said Tank, standing over her, "Now lie down and get comfortable."

Hawke stared up at Tank. Just then, a chilling gust of wind blew through their camp. Hawke shivered and lay down.

"That's it," said Tank and he got into the sleeping bag.

Hawke had to turn on her side to make room for him. She was blushing furiously and began fidgeting.

"Calm down," said Tank as he got in close behind her.

"Don't touch me!" warned Hawke in a dangerous voice.

"I'll try not to," he said, "But it is close in here."

Hawke shuddered. Tank felt it.

"Am I really that repulsive?" he asked.

"Yes, you are!" called Bran from the other side of the fire.

Hawke lay still.

"No," she said, facing the desert, "You guys are really quite nice."

"Well then why do you not want to be near us?" prodded Tank.

"I'm just not that kind of girl," retorted Hawke, pressing into the edge of the sleeping bag, "And you're technically my enemies, my kidnappers."

"I see," said Tank.

Hawke shuddered again.

But Tank was true to his word. He didn't bother her. And it was very warm under the blankets with the presence of another body. Hawke eventually relaxed and fell asleep.

Hawke was woken the next morning by Tank's movements.

He was getting up to start breakfast.

Hawke let out a small whimper. It was still chilly out and Tank had been her heat source.

"Oh, did I wake you, sweet heart?" said Tank, putting a pot of water over the fire.

Hawke groaned and rolled over, wrapping herself tighter in the blanket.

Tank chuckled.

Hawke rolled back over and watched him prepare breakfast.

"Stew again?" she asked, sitting up.

"Well, in all honesty, it's the only thing we know how to make," said Tank.

Hawke blinked,

"I know how to cook," she said, "Do you want me to make you something else?"

She looked at their ingredients.

"I'm sure I could make something," she said.

Bran got up and stretched.

"Anything that's not stew sounds delicious," he yawned.

Hawke smiled and got up.

She went over to Tank, who moved aside and let her have the cutting board.

Hawke reached for a knife, but the handcuffs inhibited her movements and she only managed to knock it into the sand.

"Ugh," she sighed, looking at her captors, "Please take these off," she held up her hands.

"We can't risk you running away, Princess," said Tank, shaking his head.

"I promise I won't," pleaded Hawke, "I know I wouldn't be able to make it anywhere before I collapse again."

"She has a point," said Bran, "I don' think she'd run away."

"I promise I won't" said Hawke again.

She gave them her puppy eyes.

"Okay, fine," muttered Tank, "But only for cooking. When we're walking you keep them on."

"Okay," sighed Hawke.

Bran unlocked the handcuffs and Hawke flexed her wrists.

The two men kept a close eye on her. But Hawke made no attempt to escape. After all, she wanted to get to Crocodile anyways.

With her hands free, Hawke quickly made grilled sausages and eggs.

"Here you are," she said, handing each of the men a plate, "Eat it while it's hot."

"I don't think it's going to get cold anytime soon," teased Tank as he took a bite.

"This is delicious!" exclaimed Bran, quickly gobbling down the rest of his breakfast, "So much better than stew!"

"I'm glad you like it," smiled Hawke, digging into her own plate.

"Boy, am I glad we kidnapped you," laughed Tank.

Hawke laughed.

"Yes, I'm positive that anyone else on the crew wouldn't cook their captor's breakfast, well Sanji might, but that's only because he really values food."

"So you're not like the rest of the Strawhats," said Bran, "I figured."

"Are you all as strong as they say you are?" asked Tank.

"Oh yes," said Hawke, "Luffy is really strong, and Zoro and Sanji are really good fighters too. I like to think of them as "The Monster Trio"."

"Yeah, I heard the pirate hunter Zoro had joined Strawhat's crew," muttered Bran.

"Every crew member is strong in their specialty," said Hawke, "Otherwise Luffy would have never asked them to join."

"And what's your specialty in?" asked Tank.

"I'm the scout," smiled Hawke, "I have higher than average eyesight and I can fly over islands to inspect them before we land."

"The scout?" said Bran, "I guess that makes sense, for a cutie like you."

Hawke shot him a look.

"I didn't mean anything by that," spluttered Bran.

Tank laughed.

"Well we better get going," he said, "We have a long way to go today."

He motioned for Hawke to come over to him to put the handcuffs back on.

Hawke held out her hands and glanced up at the sun. She could already feel her burns from yesterday start to itch again. She knew she would be worse off than she was yesterday, but she got up and made to start walking.

"Hey, hold it, sweet heart," said Tank, and he threw a blanket around her and wrapped her up in it.

"What are you doing?!" exclaimed Hawke, trying to get untangled.

"You won't last long if you walk like yesterday," said Bran, picking her up and hoisting her over his shoulder, "We need you to stay alive, so we'll carry you."

"But this is embarrassing!" cried Hawke, still struggling, "I look like a burrito!"

Tank laughed.

"You'll have to put up with your embarrassment for now."

HHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhHHHHhhhhhhisdfhiosdgovqoiuqrttttttrdrytttttyyggyhhhhhjjhjhjhhHawke blushed at the sand, but she quieted and they set off again.

The next few days passed similarly. Hawke would cook their meals and then be carried in a blanket.

She kept sharing Tank's bed. She felt more comfortable with him than with Bran, though she still dreaded whenever Tank would come over to get into the sleeping bag.

Her burns slowly healed and her strength returned. Her skin became darker and she began to get used to the desert climate.

Her captors became more trusting of her, and eventually let her keep the handcuffs off all the time.

One night, Bran even asked her if he could see her wings.

"Aren't you scared I'll fly away?" asked Hawke, smiling.

"You've had plenty of chances already," said Bran, crossing his arms.

"That's true," laughed Hawke and she unfolded her wings.

"Wow," muttered Tank, circling her to see her back, "How do they get through your jacket?"

"I cut slits in it," explained Hawke, she turned in a circle, showing off.

"You really do look like an angel," said Bran.

Hawke blushed.

"Why do you think I've been calling her Dark Angel?" laughed Tank, slapping Bran on the back.

Hawke laughed.

"That's an interesting nickname," she said.

Hawke let her wings return to their tattoo form.

"I think it suits you," said Bran.

Hawke blushed.

"You still haven't told us your real name," said Tank, getting into his sleeping bag.

Hawke smiled.

"And I'm not going to," she said, "I prefer the nickname you gave me."

Tank laughed.

"You sure are a stubborn one," he said, lifting up his blanket and offering it to her.

Hawke blushed and began walking over.

"I still don't like this," she said, "Sleeping with someone else, I mean."

"You could change it up, you know," said Bran hopefully.

Hawke glanced over at him.

His hair was sticking sideways out of his bandana. He looked really silly. Hawke laughed.

"I'll only sleep under your blanket if you promise not to touch me," she said, facing Bran.

Bran's eyes lit up.

"I promise," he said quickly.

Hawke gave him a serious look.

"Really," he said, more sincerely this time.

Hawke walked slowly over.

"I'll be watching you Bran," called Tank.

"You had her the whole time," said Bran, "It's my turn, that's fair."

Hawke took off her leather jacket and crawled under the blanket that Bran held out.

"I mean it," she warned, "I'll go back over with Tank if you try anything."

"I know," said Bran, adjusting the covers, "Are you comfortable?"

Hawke turned on her side, her back facing Bran.

"Yes," she said, "Good night."

"Good night," said Bran

"Good night," called Tank.

Hawke let out a little laugh, then closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Hawke was having a dream.

She was back on the Merry with the whole crew.

Luffy was sitting on the Merry's head, laughing and cheering.

Usopp was trying to water ski on some flying fish and Chopper was watching excitedly from the railing.

Nami was lounging in a lawn chair in her bath suit, being waited on by Sanji.

Hawke was lying on a towel on the upper part of the deck. She leaned back on her hands and felt something touch her arm. She looked to her side and saw Zoro was lying on the towel with her.

She smiled and said something to Zoro. He smiled and laughed, then motioned for her to lie down. Hawke did so, putting her head on his chest and cuddling up to his body. She felt very happy.

Just then she heard Zoros voice.

"You're just jealous she didn't do this to you," he said.

This confused Hawke. She looked up at Zoro. But it wasn't Zoro's face that greeted her.

She was staring up at Bran.

Hawke froze. She had turned around in her sleep and had cuddled up to Bran!

Hawke's eye's widened and she felt her face flush.

"I'm so sorry," she said and sprang up, out of the blankets.

"I didn't mind," said Bran, "You can come back in if you like."

"No!" exclaimed Hawke and she turned away, hiding her face.

"You don't have to be so upset," she heard Bran mutter, almost to himself.

Her shoulders started to shake.

"Hey, calm down, Princess," said Tank again, approaching her.

"Please leave me alone," sobbed Hawke and she started to run.

"Don't run away now!" called Bran, jumping up and starting to go after her.

But Tank held out his arm, blocking Bran.

"I don't think she'll run away," he said, "We still have some time until the sun comes up. Just leave her for a little while."

Bran looked at the place where Hawke had disappeared.

"You were just jealous," he muttered.

"She was obviously having a dream," retorted Tank, "She was thinking of someone else."

Bran's shoulders drooped.

"Yeah, I know," he said to his shoes.

"Huh?" asked Tank.

"She was mumbling something before she woke up," he said, looking out to the desert, "She said "Zoro"."


	19. Chapter 19: Crocodile Appears

Hawke hadn't run far.

There was another rock outcropping relatively close to where they had made camp, and she took refuge under an overhanging ledge.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and sat there sobbing.

She missed Zoro.

She missed her whole crew, all of her friends, a lot. Especially Luffy.

But she realized, for the first time, that she missed Zoro a little bit more.

"Why did that have to happen?" she shuddered.

She wiped her hands along her clothes and her legs, trying to get the feeling of Bran's body off her own.

"Why did I do that?" she asked herself, her tears slowly stopping.

Hawke sat there, with her head on her knees, for a long while.

Zoro… her thoughts turned to the green haired swordsman. He had always been looking out for her, had kept an eye on her. From her very first night as a member of the crew, he had been watching over her.

A sudden realization struck Hawke. Had it been Zoro who'd saved her from flying off the Merry when they were going over Reverse Mountain?

_No wonder he was so grumpy afterwards,_ she thought. She'd gone and thanked Sanji directly after the incident. _And that was right in front of him too!_ she thought, ashamed.

She recalled when Zoro had stayed outside her room for the whole time she'd been sleeping. _And he tried to wash my clothes, _she smiled at the sand, _that was really cute_.

He had been taking care of her all along and she had never noticed. Hawke felt her face flush. The snappy, sarcastic swordsman had somehow found his way into her heart; her dream was proof of that.

"I wonder where he is now?" she wondered aloud, looking out into the desert.

The she refocused her thoughts.

"It doesn't matter," she told herself, "As long as you can get to Crocodile, they'll come and get me. I know they will."

Finally, she looked up and took a breath, clearing her head.

"Well, I think I'm more embarrassed than anything," she said, "Going back there will be awkward."

_How will I be able to face Bran again?_ she thought.

Hawke stood up and unfurled her wings.

She took off and soared high up into the sky. Hovering in the air, she took in the view of her surroundings. The warm morning breeze blew through her hair. She breathed in deeply and calmed her thoughts.

The sun hadn't crept over the horizon yet, but there was enough light to see by.

To the south, east and west, there was nothing but endless sand dunes and small rocky outcrops.

Hawke looked to the north and squinted. She could see some figures on the horizon. They looked like spires and buildings.

"We must be almost there," she muttered.

Hawke judged the distance from their camp to the city.

"We should be there before nightfall," she decided.

Hawke took another deep breath to steady her nerves. Then she took off back to the camp.

She could see the two men sitting around the fire, they hadn't noticed her yet.

She descended and landed on one of the rocks at the edge of the camp.

"You're back," said Tank, hearing her touch down and turning.

"Yeah," said Hawke shyly, bringing her wings close around her body and played with the tips of her feathers.

"Look I'm sorry about what happened," started Bran, standing up.

"No, it's fine," Hawke interrupted him, "Let's just forget about it."

Bran looked a little put out, but he nodded.

Hawke let her wings disappear.

"I'll start breakfast," she said and busied herself with the food preparations.

"Are you sure you're okay, Princess?" asked Tank quietly, coming over to sit beside her.

"Yes, I'm fine," said Hawke, focusing on chopping some onions.

"Don't mind Bran," continued Tank, "He feels as embarrassed as you, I'm sure."

"You think so?" asked Hawke, looking up.

"Definitely," said Tank, smiling, "He told me himself. He said he knows that you weren't thinking about him last night."

Hawke lowered her face.

"Are you crying again?" Tank asked, sounded worried.

"It's just the onions," muttered Hawke, wiping her eyes.

She cleared her throat.

"I saw a city on the horizon when I was flying," she said, looking at Tank, "Is that where Mister 0 is?"

"Yep," said Bran, coming over, "We should get there before dinner time."

Hawke let a small smile creep onto her face.

"Is food all you think about?" she glanced slyly at Bran.

He looked down, but he smiled and tugged at his bandana.

"I'm just meal oriented, that's all."

Hawke let out a real giggle this time.

"There's our Dark Angel," laughed Tank, "She's back again!"

Hawke smiled and went back to making omelets. They were soon cooked and Hawke dished out three portions.

"I have to say," said Tank as he ate his share, "I'm going to miss your cooking after today."

"Yeah," said Bran, looking a bit sad, "It'll be back to stew from now on."

Hawke put down her fork and looked at the two men.

"I'm a little scared," she said quietly.

"What?" said Tank, "Why?"

"I don't know what Mister 0 will do to me," Hawke shuddered, "What if he wants to torture me for information…"

The men looked at each other. They couldn't say what Mister 0 would do, but torture wasn't off the table.

"Don't worry," said Bran, faking a smile, "He probably just wants to keep you so that he can have something to bribe Strawhat with."

"Yeah," said Tank, but he looked uneasy too.

Hawke lowered her eyes and poked her omelet with her fork.

The two men exchanged looks.

They had grown quite attached to their captive. They were worried about what their boss might do to her.

"There's nothing we can do," whispered Tank, "We have to finish our mission. If we move quickly today, we'll make our deadline."

"But I don't want her to be tortured," Bran whispered back.

Hawke heard them muttering to each other.

"What are you guys talking about?" she asked.

"Umm," stuttered Bran.

"We were just saying that we have to finish our mission," said Tank, giving her a sorry look, "We're sorry, but we have our orders."

"It's okay," said Hawke, giving them a smile, "I actually want to get to Mister 0."

"What!?" exclaimed Bran, "Are you crazy?!"

"Why do you think I haven't run away?" asked Hawke, raising her eyebrow.

"I was wondering about that," said Tank.

"I could have escaped whenever I wanted too," continued Hawke, "But I need to be close to Mister 0 if I'm going to find my crew again."

"Huh," grunted Tank, "Well that's not the smartest thing to do."

Hawke shrugged.

"That reminds me," said Bran, "We're going to have to make you walk and cuff your hands again, just so we don't get in trouble."

Hawke nodded.

"I wouldn't want you guys to getting punished because of me," she smiled.

The two men looked at her.

"You really are something special," said Tank.

Bran nodded.

"A captive isn't supposed to care about her captors," he laughed.

"Well then the captors aren't supposed to free their captive and let her cook for them," countered Hawke, smiling.

They all laughed.

Then Tank grew serious.

"We better finish up here," he said, standing and collecting the plates, "We still have a ways to go."

Hawke stood up and held out her hands.

Bran approached with the handcuffs.

"Oh, wait," said Hawke and went over to Bran's sleeping bag, "I want to keep this on today," she said, putting on her leather jacket.

"Are you sure?" asked Tank, "Today's going to be hotter than usual."

"I want to have it on when we get to the city," said Hawke, holding out her wrists again.

"Alright, then," sighed Bran, putting the cuffs on her.

"Let's go," called Tank.

The three set off towards the spires in the distance.

The day _was_ a very hot one.

Hawke was panting before long and had to keep wiping sweat out of her eyes. But she kept going. She wanted to reach the city as soon as possible.

"Are you alright, sweet heart?" asked Tank quietly over his shoulder.

Hawke swallowed, trying to make her throat less dry.

"Yes," she croaked.

Tank gave her a look, but turned and kept walking.

Finally, the city was within view.

"Here, we are," said Tank over his shoulder, "Rainbase, Mister 0's headquarters."

Hawke looked ahead.

There was a giant pyramid in the center of the town with a huge crocodile statue on the top of it. As they entered the outlying buildings, Hawke figured that that's what they were heading for.

"Now," whispered Bran from behind her, "We'll have to tell the Boss or whoever comes to take you everything we know about you."

Hawke looked over her shoulder.

"Please don't tell them anything about this morning!" she whispered frantically.

Bran had a pained look on his face.

"Please," Hawke pleaded.

She was scared that they'd tell Crocodile that she liked Zoro and would use that against her. She knew she wouldn't be able to cope with that.

Bran looked at her. His shoulders drooped.

"Okay," he muttered, "It isn't really relevant anyways."

_Phew_, thought Hawke.

"Thank you," she whispered and faced forward again.

As Hawke was led along a side street, she noticed they were heading towards a small, rundown looking shop front.

There was a small booth on the right side of the boarded up doorway and a man waved them over to it.

"We're escorting this young lady to the casino," said Tank to the man in the booth.

Then he passed him a paper. The man read the paper and looked back up at the group.

"Miss All Sunday will receive the transfer," the man said quietly, "She is waiting in the central plaza."

Hawke felt her captors tense.

But they just nodded their heads and proceeded into the city.

"We'll get to see Miss All Sunday!" Bran whispered excitedly up to Tank.

"I know!" whispered Tank, "But shut up, anyone could be listening!"

Hawke wondered who this Miss All Sunday was.

They walked through the streets in silence.

The city around them, though, was thriving with people and animals. There were trading stalls, food stalls, clothing stalls.

Hawke looked at all the ones she passed by with wonder.

This city is really wealthy, she thought as she caught sight of a silk vender.

Everything is so pretty, she looked up at the buildings.

They had reached a large open plaza.

Tank and Bran stopped, jerking Hawke a little because she hadn't been paying attention.

"There," said Tank quietly, tilting his head to one side.

Hawke and Bran followed his cue.

There was a tall woman with black hair leaning against the wall just inside an alleyway at the edge of the plaza. She was wearing a long white coat and a white cowboy hat.

"Miss All Sunday," whispered Bran.

Tank led the way over and into the alleyway.

Miss All Sunday didn't say anything. As they entered the alleyway, she turned ahead of them and walked further down the passage.

They continued to follow Miss All Sunday until they reached a small wooden door hidden behind a pile of crates.

The mysterious woman knocked and it opened.

She gestured for them to take Hawke through.

Her captors started forward. Hawke entered a dimly lit passage. It branched in two directions, to the left and to the right.

"You two go to the right," Miss All Sunday said, gesturing down the path, "I will take the prisoner. You will give a report of all you have discovered. And good job on making your deadline."

Hawke looked at the two men.

Tank was looking uncertain, but he turned and started going down the right passage.

Bran looked back at Hawke.

"See ya, Dark Angel," he said quietly, before turning and following Tank.

Hawke watched them disappear into the darkness. She knew she wasn't safe anymore.

"Let's go," said Miss All Sunday sharply.

Hawke started down the left passageway.

It was lined with small torches, but was still not very bright.

Suddenly a door loomed out of the darkness ahead of her.

Miss All Sunday opened it and Hawke stepped through.

The room she entered had stone walls and no windows. There wasn't much furniture in it; just a desk with a comfortable looking chair and another, smaller wooden chair, placed facing the desk. The only light source was a dirty fire place with a small fire burning in its grate. There was a lamp on the desk, but it was unlit.

"Sit," ordered Miss All Sunday.

Hawke sat in the wooden chair. She faced the empty desk and shivered.

"There's no need to be afraid… yet," said Miss All Sunday.

Hawke wasn't sure if the woman was taunting her or comforting her.

She was standing beside the desk and was watching Hawke.

Hawke dropped her gaze and stared at the flagstone floor.

"That billion called you Dark Angel," Miss All Sunday suddenly broke the silence.

Hawke looked up.

"Is that your name?" she was asked.

Hawke shook her head.

"Well then why did he call you that?" asked Miss All Sunday.

"They made it up. I had nothing to do with it," was all Hawke said.

They sat in silence for a long while.

Hawke was dozing off, the heat had really gotten to her again, when the door suddenly opened. She jerked herself awake.

A slight smile crept onto Miss All Sunday's face.

Hawke looked to see who had entered the room.

A very large man stood in the doorway, his shoulders almost blocking out the light from the passage. He had a large, fur-lined, cloak on and was smoking a cigar. His face was shrouded in shadow.

"Mister 0," acknowledged Miss All Sunday.

_So that's Crocodile_, thought Hawke, still squinting to try and make out his face.

Mister 0 walked over and sat down at the desk.

He placed his left arm on the desk with a thump. Hawke's eyes widened. His hand was missing! In its place was a large golden hook.

"It's rude to stare," said Crocodile, sneering at her.

Hawke started and blushed.

"Sorry," she said quietly.

"Oh ho!" laughed Crocodile, "We have a polite prisoner."

Hawke looked up. The lamp on the desk had been lit, and she could see Crocodiles' features for the first time.

He had a large, square jaw. His dark hair was slicked back, showing a broad forehead. And he had a large scar that went from one cheek to the other, going over his nose.

"So," started Crocodile, "You must be the unnamed woman of the Strawhat pirates."

Hawke stared at him.

Miss All Sunday made a small movement, shifting the weight on her feet.

Hawke blinked.

"Um, I guess so," she said.

"Well you see, I'm inclined to believe you, but we don't have a good photo of her," said Crocodile

Hawke blinked again.

"The farthest record we have that may prove your honesty is when my underlings attempted to kill you on Cactus Island, they reported six crew members: four men and two women. One with orange hair, one with brown. And we have information of a woman sailing with the Straw Hats in the East Blue, although there was no proof that she was part of their crew," continued Crocodile, watching Hawke for her reaction.

Hawke sat back in her chair.

"But when we had that incident at Little Garden," said Crocodile, "There was a report saying that those numbers hadn't changed, except for the addition of a pet. This is strange because we know that Vivi had joined your crew by then. We are also able to identify every crew member except the missing woman and a missing man by the name of Mr. Prince."

He took out an envelope from his cloak and laid its contents on the desk.

They were pictures of her crewmates!

Hawke's eyes widened.

The photos showed Luffy, Nami, Zoro, and Usopp.

_Huh_, she thought, _where's Sanji and I?_ _And why are they all wearing the same weird outfit? Are those swans?!_

Crocodile watched her as she examine the photographs.

"You obviously recognize them," he said, picking them up and putting them back into the envelope.

He raised his hook and gestured to Miss All Sunday, who immediately left the room.

"We will confirm that you are a member of the Strawhat crew and then you shall be taken to a place where I can keep an eye on you," he said, casually leaning back and drawing a long breath on his cigar.

Hawke sat in silence, nervously rubbing her hands together. She could feel the man's eyes on her, his presence made her very uncomfortable.

Crocodile leaned forward again.

"What's your position?" he asked suddenly.

Hawke's head jerked up in surprise.

"Pardon?" she asked quietly.

"Your rank?" he asked again irritably, "Your role on the crew?"

"Oh," mumbled Hawke, "I'm the scout."

Crocodile didn't respond. He just grunted and sat back in his chair.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Enter," grunted Crocodile, his eyes still on Hawke.

Miss All Sunday returned and was followed by another man, whom Hawke didn't recognize.

"You were present on Cactus Island when the attempt to capture the Straw Hats was made?" Crocodile asked, lazily.

"Yes, sir!" replied the man, looking straight ahead.

"Can you confirm that this woman was a part of their crew?" Crocodile pointed across to Hawke.

The man squinted at her.

"Come on," grunted Crocodile, moving the lamp so the light shone into her eyes, "Let the man see your pretty face."

Hawke raised her head.

"Yes," said the man finally, "She was with the Strawhats."

"Excellent," said Crocodile and he waved his hand.

Miss All Sunday nodded to the man and he left the room.

"Alright then, you are part of the Strawhats," said Crocodile, turning his attention back to Hawke, "I'm curious as to where you were during the Little Garden incident," he muttered, "But that's not of importance at the moment. The billions who caught you said that you have devil fruit powers from eating the Feather-Feather fruit."

Hawke nodded, she thought it best to keep up that lie.

"They say that you can grow wings and fly like a bird," confirmed Crocodile.

Hawke nodded again.

"And you call yourself Dark Angel?" he continued.

Hawke stiffened. She couldn't lie about this. She had already told Miss All Sunday, she needed to stay consistent.

She shook her head.

"Oh?" pushed Crocodile.

Hawke looked up.

"They made that name up for me," she said.

"So then what is your name?" asked Miss All Sunday.

Hawke shrunk again, she couldn't escape this time.

"Hawke," she mumbled.

"Dark Angel Hawke, the scout for the Strawhat pirates," said Crocodile, "That has a nice ring to it."

Hawke looked at the ground. _This guy is really strange_, she thought, _I don't like how he looks at me_.

"Well that's all that's necessary for now," said Crocodile, standing up, "Miss All Sunday, bring her to my conference room."

"Yes, sir," said the agent.

She went over to Hawke and motioned for her to stand.

Hawke stood. She was still facing Crocodile. He was watching her with an intense gaze. She blushed and turned her face towards the door.

Miss All Sunday tied a rope to Hawkes' handcuffs and led her towards the door. Crocodile got up and followed behind Hawke.

"You're a pretty thing for a pirate," he muttered into Hawke's ear.

A shiver went down her spine. _Why did everyone say that?!_ She thought, trying to walk closer to Miss All Sunday, _does Nami have to put up with this too?_

Hawke frowned. _Then again, Nami probably enjoys the attention_, she thought.

"Aren't you one of the Seven Warlords?" she asked, trying to divert his attention.

"Perceptive," said Crocodile sarcastically.

Hawke felt something tugging at her ponytail. She turned her head and saw the golden hook raised and being drawn through her hair.

She let out a frightened gasp and sped up, running into Miss All Sunday's back.

"Watch what you're doing," snapped the woman ahead of her without turning around.

"Don't worry about her," drawled Crocodile, "I was toying with my prisoner."

Hawke's back stiffened. _This man is a monster_, she thought frantically, _I may have made a mistake in coming here willingly_.

Crocodile chuckled.

They reached the door and exited into the alleyway.

"Are you sure going out in public is safe?" asked Miss All Sunday.

"The people like me," said Crocodile, "If they get nosy I'll lie."

Hawke was led back out into the plaza.

"Hello, Sir Crocodile," said a man pulling a cart, "Nice day isn't it?"

"Yeah," grunted Crocodile.

"Good afternoon, Sir Crocodile," called an older woman from a stall.

Crocodile waved as more and more people greeted him. So far no one had noticed Hawke.

They were approaching a bridge. Hawke looked to the other side. There was the giant pyramid facing them with the huge crocodile sitting on the top.

"Go," said Crocodile, pushing Hawke forward.

"Who's that, Momma?" asked a little boy, pointing at Hawke, "She looks like she's in trouble."

"She is," said Crocodile, turning to the child, "I caught her trying to steal my wallet today. But she said she was sorry, so I'm taking her to my casino to my maid instead of arresting her."

"How charitable," said the child's mother, pulling the boy away, smiling at Crocodile.

"She's a pretty one," said a man standing next to a stall, "You should make her a dancer, not a maid, Sir Crocodile."

Crocodile waved and moved on.

They left the crowd and crossed the bridge.

"Let's not go through the main casino," said Crocodile, "I'm tired of these fools."

They turned right at the main doors and entered a smaller door into a hallway.

Hawke was led down through a maze of corridors. They were all carpeted in red and looked the same.

I won't be able to escape like this, thought Hawke.

She was beginning to lose hope. How would Luffy find her here?

Hawke's spirit became lower and lower as she was led deeper and deeper into the depths of the casino.


	20. Chapter 20: Zoro's Thoughts

The crew had set up camp behind a larger than normal sand dune. Ace had just left them to continue with his man hunt.

It was well past midnight, but Zoro couldn't sleep.

He was sitting on the top edge of the dune. His eyes traced the path of his footprints back down to the fire pit.

He could see the rest of the crew huddled around the fire, piled onto each other trying to keep warm.

Zoro's eyes went back to the horizon.

Where was Hawke?

He had had a lot of time to reflect since she'd disappeared.

_She's definitely special_, he thought.

Zoro had barely noticed girls before. He would watch Sanji swoon over Nami, and every other girl he saw, and would wonder if there was something wrong with himself. Even Usopp would sneak an occasional glance towards Nami when she wore her bathing suit. But Zoro had never had the urge.

He had even considered the possibility of being homosexual, based on his feelings towards Luffy.

He had been very confused about himself. But then, out of nowhere, Hawke had dropped into the picture, literally.

She had been a shock to his senses. He felt like he hadn't been seeing or feeling properly before he met her.

She had helped him realize that he was not in love with Luffy. He was devoted to his captain, yes, but it was not a physical attraction, it was deep rooted loyalty.

_Maybe that's it…,_ Zoro thought as he sat in the cold.

He knew that Hawke understood that feeling. She felt the same way as he did towards Luffy.

But did she love the captain? _No_, he thought, _he's her brother, that's a different kind of love._

Zoro shivered, though not from the cold.

His body craved Hawke's touch; even her presence would be enough to make him feel better.

He thought back to when they crossed Reverse Mountain.

He had been standing behind Hawke, after she had escaped from that spy guy. When they had crossed over the top, he had seen that she still hadn't recovered her strength and was losing her grip. So he'd slipped his arm around Hawke's waist to keep her from flying off the ship again. That was the first time he had held a woman like that before. It had felt so right, like she belonged right there, at his side, under his arm.

But she hadn't seen him and he had let go of her before the mist cleared. Zoro wondered what would have happened if he'd stayed there…

_She wouldn't have thanked that stupid cook,_ he seethed silently.

After they had made it over the peak of Reverse Mountain, Hawke had thanked Sanji. She seemed to think it had been him who saved her. Of course, the cook and accepted her thanks, completely clueless as to why she was thanking him.

_At least she didn't say why_, thought the swordsman, _that could have gotten awkward_.

He had been in a bad mood after that, berating himself for not telling her it had been him who'd saved her. But she had seemed to move on and forget about the event. So he had tried his best to move on too.

Zoro sighed.

…Or what if she had seen him as he watched make her vow on the barrel?… What if she had woken up when he had stroked her hair? She had looked so beautiful. Laying there in her white dress, like an angel.

Zoro blushed at the sand. _Look at yourself_, he thought,_ you're showing too much emotion. The crew will notice, if they haven't already._

Zoro had tried hard not to act differently towards the other crew members. And to his credit, his attitude towards the others hadn't changed, even if his actions had given him away.

Hawke's presence hadn't changed his feelings towards Nami; she was still annoying and bossy.

And Zoro now understood where Luffy sat in his relationship circle. He could express his loyalty without fear or confusion anymore.

Sanji still pushed all of his buttons and he kept hitting on Hawke, even though Zoro had warned him to back off.

Zoro was sure that he treated Usopp the same way. And Chopper hadn't known them before Hawke.

Even towards Hawke, if they were in public, he would act relatively nonchalant, trying not to give her any special attention. Though he sometimes failed miserably at it.

_She does make me happy though_, thought Zoro smiling.

Her presence always made him feel good, more confident.

Now that she was missing, he had sunken into an unusually really grumpy mood.

_Although that might also be because of the heat_, he thought.

Zoro did want to go find Hawke. But he had to put his captain first. He knew that Hawke would be okay with Luffys' choice, and she probably expected it. And if she had figured out that she was being taken to Crocodile, hopefully she would realize that that was where the crew was headed and stay there.

But what really worried Zoro was the thought of Hawke being held prisoner and tortured.

Zoro clenched his hand around his swords.

"If anyone lays a hand on her, they will die!" he muttered to the sand.

Just then he heard movement in the camp.

"Oi, stupid swordsman," Sanji's voice called up the dune, "What are you doing up there?"

"None of your business, damn cook!" shouted Zoro.

He stood up and walked back down to the camp.

Sanji watched Zoro as he descended. When the two men stood facing each other, Sanji spoke.

"We're all worried about her, you know," he said, lifting his cigarette to his mouth.

Zoro stiffened.

"What are you talking about!" he growled at the cook.

"Shut up Zoro," groaned Nami from her bed by the fire, "And put some more logs on the fire, I'm freezing."

"Why do I have to do it?" muttered Zoro.

"I'll make you warmer Nami-chwan!" swooned Sanji and sped over to the wood pile.

Zoro glared at the camp in general and sat down by their packs.

_That stupid cook_, he thought as he closed his eyes, _what does he know about worrying_.


	21. Chapter 21: The Prophecy

Hawke adjusted her sitting position; her legs were falling asleep again.

She had been brought down a staircase into a large, sparsley decorated room. It had a blue tiled floor, a candelabrum on a long table with several comfortable looking chairs around it, and there were many large, floor-length windows on the walls.

The windows didn't give a view of the sky, however. They looked out into an underwater tank which was home to many huge banana crocodiles.

The animals were constantly circling in front of the room. Hawke thought it was because of her presence. She must be bait for them.

Crocodile had had her put in a large cage at the back of the room. It was made out of sea prism stone, so they had taken her handcuffs off. There was only a small bench to sit on and it wasn't the most comfortable thing.

Hawke really didn't like this room. She kept hearing whispers and she didn't know where they were coming from. They severely creeped her out.

She had been left to herself for many hours now. No one had come to check on her. She had been dozing on and off, but now she was wide awake and getting hungry.

Hawke got up and paced the length of her cage.

"What are these voices," she muttered, putting her hands over her ears, trying to block out the whispers.

Suddenly the whispers grew more intense.

Hawke groaned.

Just then, the doors at the top of the staircase opened.

Hawke looked up to see who had come in. The whispers became quiet again.

Miss All Sunday was descending the steps.

She came over to Hawkes cage and stood at the bars, watching her.

Hawke shuffled her feet uncomfortably.

"What do you want with me?" she asked.

"I don't have to tell you that," said Miss All Sunday.

Hawke crossed her arms and stood silent, returning Miss All Sundays stare.

Several minutes passed in silence.

"Do you know of the prophecy?" Miss All Sunday asked suddenly.

Hawke blinked.

"What prophecy?" she returned.

Miss All Sunday looked at her sternly.

Then she turned and sat down in one of the chairs from the table, facing away from Hawke.

"I don't know of any prophecy," said Hawke again, coming up to the bars.

"Then it doesn't concern you," said Miss All Sunday suddenly, standing up again, "I was mistaken."

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Hawke, grabbing onto the bars, "Tell me what you mean? What is this prophecy? Does it involve Luffy?" she stuck her arm through the bars and pointed her finger at the Baroque Works agent, "You better be careful if you mess with my captain!"

Miss All Sunday stared at her.

"You aren't fainting…" she said.

Hawke blinked.

"What?"

"You should be incredibly weakened by touching those bars," said Miss All Sunday, coming back to the cage.

Hawke gasped and stepped back, letting go of the bars.

The agent peered at her through the cage.

"You don't have devil fruit powers," she said, in a whisper.

Hawke stared at her.

_Damn_, she thought, _I forgot about the sea prism stone._

"Do you even have powers of flight?" asked Miss All Sunday, almost scathingly.

Hawke wasn't sure what she should do. What would happen to her if Crocodile found out the truth?

"Show me if you have these powers," ordered Miss All Sunday, "The billions said you could sprout wings from your back. I doubt they would lie about something like that."

Hawke took another step back.

_I should have been more careful with Tank and Bran_, she thought, _they did warn me they had to tell everything they knew about me._

Hawke let her shoulders fall, she had no other choice.

_Still_, she thought, raising her head, she felt she could trust this woman. Hawke didn't know why, she just had a gut feeling.

She unfurled her wings. Their tips brushed against either end of the cage.

Miss All Sundays' eyes widened.

The whispers began again, very loudly this time.

Hawke pulled in her wings and fell to the ground, covering her ears.

"Please make them stop," she pleaded to Miss All Sunday, "I can't take it anymore!"

Miss All Sunday was staring at her.

"Why?" she said, "What's wrong?"

"You can't hear them?" asked Hawke, still trying to plug her ears.

"Hear what?" asked the woman.

"The whispers!" shouted Hawke, "Make them stop!"

"I don't hear anything," said Miss All Sunday.

But she was looking at Hawke like she understood something.

Miss All Sunday turned and looked out of the windows, watching the crocodiles circle.

She went over and drew curtains over the windows.

Hawke slowly withdrew her hands from her ears. The whispering quieted again.

"Nevermind," she said, "They're gone now."

"Yes they would be," said Miss All Sunday, "Fascinating."

"Pardon?" asked Hawke.

Miss All Sunday smiled.

"You are a polite prisoner."

Hawke became a little flustered at this comment.

"What's with you captors?" she muttered, "You always make fun of me."

Miss All Sunday let out a little laugh and started back up the staircase.

Hawke watched her go.

The woman stopped at the top of the stairs. She stood facing away from Hawke.

"From the East it will come, A dark angel to bring a long awaited peace, The history shall be revealed when black wings fly once more."

Hawke stood silent.

"That's the prophecy," said Miss All Sunday and she left.

Hawke stared at the place where Miss All Sunday had disappeared.

"What?!" she exclaimed, "Wait come back, what does that mean?!"

Hawke ran up to the bars.

"Come back!" she shouted.

Hawke strained against the bars.

_What did that mean?_ she thought.

Hawke gave up and went back to her bench.

"A dark angel from the east," she muttered, "That has nothing to do with Luffy. Does Miss All Sunday think that means me?!"

Hawke was from the East Blue and she did have black wings. But what was that part about history being revealed? Or the long awaited peace? And "Dark Angel" was a nick name; she hadn't even been the one who thought it up.

"Where did this prophecy even come from?" muttered Hawke, "It's probably only part of their plan," she decided.

Hawke crossed her arms and curled up on the floor in the corner of her cage. She sat listening to the whispers. They were faint, but still there.

She couldn't make out any words, however, and slowly fell asleep.

Many hours later, Crocodile and Miss All Sunday quietly entered the conference room and came up to the cage.

Hawke was lying on the floor in one corner, sleeping.

"So she doesn't have devil fruit powers?" asked Crocodile.

"No," said Miss All Sunday, "She sprouted wings inside the cage and didn't faint when she touched the bars."

"Hmmm," sighed Crocodile, "We seem to have stumbled upon a special little treasure, Miss All Sunday."

"She said she could hear whispering in this room," said Miss All Sunday, "It was quite distressing for her."

Crocodile turned his head towards the center of the room.

"I don't hear anything," he said.

"Neither do I," agreed Miss All Sunday, "But her reaction was quite real."

"Why are the curtains drawn?" asked Crocodile, going over and pulling them back.

The banana crocodiles swam up and looked in through the glass, pushing each other out of the way in the process.

"I haven't seen them this excited in a while," muttered Crocodile.

Hawke woke up with a start.

"I can hear you!" she shouted, sitting up quickly, "Just be quiet!"

"What's going on?" said Crocodile, walking back over to the cage.

Hawke was kneeling on the floor with her hands over her ears, letting out little whimpers.

"It would seem that she can hear the voices again," said Miss All Sunday.

"Yeah," said Crocodile.

He stood in front of the cage.

"Hey, Dark Angel Hawke," he called.

Hawke looked up and moved her hands away from her ears a little.

"What are you hearing?" Crocodile asked, "I can't hear anything."

"There are so many voices," said Hawke, distractedly, "I can't hear what they're saying, but they keep whispering and won't stop."

"Is it some sort of Haki?" asked Miss All Sunday.

"It could be," said Crocodile, scratching his chin, "But there aren't any people close enough for her to hear."

Miss All Sunday looked back at the crocodiles floating outside the windows.

"Well whatever it is," she said, "It will drive our captive to the brink if it goes on like this."

"We can't fix it if we don't know what it is," muttered Crocodile, "We'll leave her for now. Maybe it'll go away by itself. We can't have her like this for the meeting."

Miss All Sunday nodded.

Crocodile started to make his way back up the stairs.

"Stay here and make sure she doesn't go insane," he said over his shoulder to Miss All Sunday, "I have to go prepare something before the others are let in."

The woman sat down at the table.

Crocodile left, closing the doors behind him with a bang.

Hawke was still kneeling on the floor of her cage.

Miss All Sunday looked at her.

"Did you understand the prophecy?" she asked, getting up and closing the curtains again.

Hawke lowered her hands and shakily stood up.

She went over to the bars and clung to them for support.

"What does it mean?" Hawke asked weakly, "Surely you can't think that it means me?"

Miss All Sunday walked over to the cage. She held out a small plate of food.

"Here, you must be hungry," she said.

Hawke took the plate, but continued to keep her eyes on Miss All Sunday.

"Thank you," she said.

Miss All Sunday returned to her seat at the table.

"Before going any further," said Miss All Sunday, "I would like you to keep this information between us."

She fixed Hawke with her stare.

Hawke blinked and nodded.

"I have a condition too," she said suddenly, a thought popping into her brain.

Miss All Sunday looked surprised, but nodded her head.

"Tell me your real name," said Hawke, "Then I'll listen to you."

Miss All Sunday looked taken aback.

"You all have fake names in Baroque Works," continued Hawke, "I want to know your real name."

Miss All Sunday smiled and nodded.

"Very well," she said, "My name is Nico Robin."

Hawke gasped.

"You're _Nico Robin_?!" she exclaimed, almost dropping her food, "The only survivor of O'Hara?"

Robin blinked.

"I'm surprised you know who I am," she said.

"I spent some time at a marine base," said Hawke, looking at the woman in front of her in wonder.

The marines had only told her how terrible Nico Robin was and that she was a devil child that planned to destroy the world. But Hawke had always felt that there was more to the story than that. Robin had only been eight years old when they had put a bounty on her head. Hawke knew that the navy kept its secrets and wasn't altogether righteous sometimes.

"Alright then, Nico Robin," she said, smiling, "I've decided I like you."

The agent laughed.

"Just Robin please," she said, "And you should be a little more careful before you trust someone."

"My intuition has worked out for me so far," said Hawke, finishing her meal.

She stood up and gave Robin a small bow.

"Thank you for the food, I was really hungry," she said.

"My, my," said Robin, "So polite."

Hawke blushed and sat back down.

"What was that meeting Crocodile was talking about?" she asked.

"The top members of Baroque Works are gathering here for their final briefing," said Robin.

Hawke swallowed.

"And why was I kidnapped?"

"You are to act as bait to draw Strawhat here," answered Robin, "As soon as we learned of Mister 3's failure, this plan was devised."

Hawke looked at her hands.

_At least they don't know Luffy's coming here anyways_, she thought, _they don't know how much we already know about Crocodile's plan._

Hawke played with her jacket cuff.

"Now, about the prophecy," said Nico Robin, "You probably assume that it's a fake."

Hawke looked up. Yes, she did, but she decided to admit this tactfully.

"It's the first I've heard of it," she said, "I have no basis to form any opinion on it."

"Well it is a real prophecy," said Robin, seeing through her politeness, "And it's an ancient one."

Hawke's eyes widened.

"I enjoy studying history," continued Robin, "And this prophecy has been recorded in many texts throughout the last eight hundred years."

"So what does it mean?" asked Hawke, "In the prophecy, when it talked about revealing history?"

Robin paused.

"Before I tell you that, I will give you my opinion," she said finally.

"Your opinion?" asked Hawke.

"Yes," said Robin, "I believe that you are the subject the prophecy is referring to. You are the Dark Angel."

Hawke blinked; she still wasn't convinced.

"And what if I am the Dark Angel?" she asked.

"Then you will be hunted down and killed by the government," was the answer.

Hawke let out a little gasp.

"Why would the government want to kill me?" she asked, wide-eyed.

"Because the prophecy declares that when the Dark Angel appears, the true history will be revealed," said Robin.

"Is it referring to the Blank Century?" asked Hawke, still skeptical.

"Yes," said Robin excitedly, leaning forward in her chair, "I believe it is."

"Why would the government not want to find out what happened in the blank century? And why would the government act on a prophecy? Shouldn't there be more proof than that?" asked Hawke, becoming uneasy.

"Because," said Robin sullenly, "They are the ones who hid the events of those one hundred years from history. They cannot afford any risk to this knowledge coming to light and smother _any_ rumours relating to it."

Hawke couldn't believe her ears.

"What?!" she exclaimed, "What could be so bad that the government erased a hundred years of history?!"

"That's what I want to find out," said Robin.

Hawke searched Robins face through the bars. She felt that this woman was telling the truth. But it was just so shocking that is was hard for Hawke to understand.

"I need to think about this," she said.

Robin nodded.

"It is a lot to take in," she said as she got up.

"And about those voices you hear…" continued Robin, walking over to the curtains, "I think you are hearing them."

She drew back the curtains again and the banana crocodiles swarmed up to the glass.

Hawke's head started ringing with whispers again.

She cried out and covered her ears.

"Don't ignore it," said Robin, "Try to listen to them."

Hawke stared at the crocodiles pressing themselves up to the glass. She slowly lowered her hands.

A flood of voices bombarded Hawke's ears.

"No, they're too loud," she whimpered.

Suddenly, the crocodiles quieted down and slowed their movements. The voices became softer and Hawke could hear fewer of them.

_Can they hear me?_ she thought.

"It's the princess…"

"She must not stay here…"

"Fly away Princess, fly…"

"You are not safe with our master…"

Hawke gazed at the crocodiles, her mouth hanging open.

"It was you?!" she gasped.

The crocodile that was closest to the glass swam up and pressed the side of its face against the window.

"She can hear us!" it said.

The other crocodiles circled the window and looked into the room.

"Princess, you must escape," said one of them.

"Our master cannot be trusted," said another.

"He will never let you free," said the first one, "You must fly, Princess."

"I can't," said Hawke, clenching the bars, "I'm trapped, I can't escape!"

"You must find a way to get away from this place, Princess," said one crocodile with a scar along its snout.

Hawke looked at them through the bars and sighed.

"Why are you calling me that?" she asked.

The crocodiles started to stir.

"The master is calling us!" said the first crocodile and swam away, quickly followed by the others.

"Wait," called Hawke, but they were already gone.

Hawke gazed into the now empty water outside the window.

"It was the crocodiles?" she whispered, "How am I able to hear them?"

Then it clicked.

"Oh, how stupid!" Hawke berated herself and hit herself lightly on the head.

"What is it?" asked Robin, who had been watching the entire episode.

"They are reptiles," said Hawke, smiling, "Reptiles are very closely related to birds."

"So you can understand animals then?" said Robin.

"Only birds, or so I thought," said Hawke, still looking into the water, "I can't believe I didn't figure it out before."

"Is there anything else you are capable of?" asked Robin.

Hawke looked over at her.

"I like you Robin," she said, "But I can't trust you yet. After all, you work for Crocodile."

Robin smiled.

"You aren't as gullible as you let on," she said.

But then their conversation was cut short.

The doors opened and a group of people entered the room.


	22. Chapter 22: The Evenings Entertainment

The group of six people came down the stairs and went over to the long table.

Robin had been sitting in her spot, but she got up and went over to the base of the staircase.

"Thank you for coming," she said "I'm glad you all could make it here; to the city where people dream of obtaining an instant fortune through gambling, the city of dreams, Rainbase. And to the largest casino in this city, Rain Dinners, I welcome you."

"Skip the formalities and get to the point, Miss All Sunday," said a large man with dark skin and a long cloak with no shirt underneath, taking his seat at the table.

"Mister 1," acknowledged Robin.

"Just how long is he going to make us wait?!" exclaimed a man in a very strange costume, banging his fists on the table.

From the look of his makeup, Hawke assumed he was an okama.

The next people to take their seats were a woman wearing an extremely revealing leather outfit and another woman with purple hair and an orange dress.

"Will you be quiet, Mister 2," said the woman in the leather outfit.

"Yeah! Baka! Ba-! Ba-!" shouted an older lady with a pointy, oddly shaped nose, who was also banging her fist on the table.

"You too, Miss Merry Christmas," muttered the woman in leather.

A very large man with blonde hair and scarf around his neck sat down and start laughing.

Hawke analyzed everyone as they took their seat at the table.

_But who's that woman with the purple hair_? She thought,_ Is she Mister 1 or 2's partner? The fat man must be Mr. 4… since Mr. 3 isn't here? And what about the woman in the leather?_

None of the new guests had noticed Hawke yet. She was sitting quietly, far back in her cage.

"I will continue with the briefing," said Miss All Sunday, standing at the head of the table, "But before I do, let me introduce you to the Boss of our organization, whose face you have yet to see. Until now I have acted as his representative and relayed his orders to you, but there is no longer a need for that."

"The time has come," a deep voice suddenly rang out, Hawke shivered, "For Operation Utopia."

All the members at the table turned and looked towards the staircase, where Crocodile had just entered.

"What?!" they all gasped in unison when they recognized their previously unknown leader.

"As expected," chuckled Miss All Sunday, "You seem to know him; his public face at least."

"Now, before we get down to business," drawled Crocodile, descending the steps, "Permit me to keep our goal between us."

Everyone looked at him questionably.

Suddenly Hawke felt something touch her arm.

She looked down and gave a loud shriek.

There was a hand gripping her. Only a hand, with no body attached to it! Hawke flailed her arm wildly, trying to shake off the hands grasp.

"Who's that?" asked the woman with the purple hair.

Crocodile had made it to the base of the stairs and walked over to the cage.

"No one you need to know about for the moment, Miss Easter," grunted Crocodile, "A prisoner of mine whom I do not want to know the details of my plan."

He looked through the bars at Hawke. She had stopped flailing and was holding her arm out, trying to get the hand as far from her body as she could.

Crocodile let out a chuckle.

Hawke watched as the hand dissolved into sand and then flew through the bars to his outstretched arm, reassembling into his hand again.

"What?!" gasped Hawke.

_He's made of sand?!_ She thought.

"I'm sorry, Angel," he said, reaching into his cloak and taking out a syringe, "But you're going to have to take a short nap."

He shot out his hand again, grabbing Hawke's arm and dragging her across the cage, pressing her up against the bars in front of him.

Hawke struggled frantically, trying to push herself away.

"No, don't!" she whimpered as she felt a prick on her shoulder.

"Just relax," he muttered, "This will only put you to sleep for a few hours. There's no need to struggle, you're just drawing unwanted attention."

Hawke felt her legs weakening. Her vision was starting to blur. She tried to focus on Crocodile. He was watching her face. She struggled to focus her eyes. _Why is he looking at me like that?_ she thought, _is he pitying me?_

Darkness started to frame her vision.

"No," she whispered weakly, as her legs gave out.

Crocodile, his hand still holding onto her arm, lowered her gently to the ground.

"Have a good rest," she heard Crocodile say.

Then she saw his feet turn and start to walk away.

"Wait…" she tried to mumble, but the effort pushed her over the brink and she fell into darkness.

~~Hawke felt herself being pulled out of her warm blanket of sleep.

She could hear a muffled voice in the distance.

_No_, she thought, _I don't want to wake up yet._

She tried to roll over, but her whole body felt like a lead pipe.

The voice became louder and was joined by another, deeper voice.

_Someone's arguing_, Hawke tried to clear her clouded mind. She remembered where she was, but other than that, her memories were a little fuzzy.

Hawke lay there, listening as the voices slowly became clearer.

"I will finish off Vivi and that pirate crew without fail if you give me—"

"Silence you useless little shit!" she heard the deep voice snarl, "I have already been informed of your failure and have taken precautions. Mister 3! Do you know why I gave you that title?!"

Hawke heard sounds of someone gasping and struggling. _What's happening?_ she thought, trying to get her eyelids to obey her.

"In terms of combat ability, you are inferior to Mister 4," the deep voice continued, "I believed you had the tenacity to carry out your orders, no matter what underhanded means were necessary! And I am very disappointed."

There were gasps and exclamations of horror

_It must be Crocodile who's speaking_, thought Hawke, finally recognizing the deep voice.

She could feel her eyelids becoming lighter as she tried to open them.

"W-water," she heard a weak gasp, "Water!"

"Drink all the water you want," sneered Crocodile.

There was a soft click and then a yell, followed by silence.

"It's feeding time," Crocodile muttered, "That greedy ghoul had it coming."

There was a tense silence.

"So is that why you have a hostage?" asked a woman's voice, "But she doesn't look like any of the people identified in the pictures."

_That sounded like that Miss Easter lady_, thought Hawke.

She finally managed to open her eyes a crack. But the brightness of the room seared her vision, making her eyes water immediately.

There was a pause.

"Yes, I didn't see her when I was aboard their ship," a new man's voice said.

_Wait_, thought Hawke, _he sounds like that okama man, Mister 2._

Her vision adjusted to the light and focused a little and she began to take in her surroundings. She was still lying on the floor near the door of the cage, in full view of all the agents.

_I need to get up_, she thought, trying to move her legs.

But her body wasn't responding to her.

_Come on,_ she thought, concentrating on trying to wiggle her fingers and toes. After a few moment of nothing, her fingers began bending at her will.

_That's more like it_, she thought and continued waking up the rest of her body.

"It has been proven that she was present at Cactus Island and was acting as part of their crew. Even if she's not, that is of no importance, as long as she has some connection with them, which has been proven. She is to act as bait to lure the pirates here, where they will be disposed of," Crocodile drew a long breath on his cigar.

Hawke shivered.

_Get a grip_, she told herself, _you need to snap out of this right now_!

Hawke willed her arms to move and pushed herself up into a sitting position.

"What's this?" noted Miss Easter, "Your hostage is awake."

She had caught sight of Hawke's movement.

Crocodile laughed and turned around.

"Yes, I think it's about time for some introductions. This is the Strawhat's scout," he said, "Stand up so I can show you off, Angel."

Hawke shivered again, but she pulled herself up, clinging to the bars. Her vision spun and it was all she could do to stay standing.

_What kind of drug did he use on me?_ she thought.

"She's pretty fragile looking," said Mister 1, he sounded unconvinced.

Hawke was still clinging to the bars, trying to get her legs to stand on their own.

Crocodile grunted, but didn't reply.

He turned to address the rest of the table.

"Now the final order of business: these letters detail your final missions. When you complete these tasks, we will be in position to launch our final plans and create our Utopia."

The agents each had closed envelopes placed on the table in front of them. While Crocodile was speaking, they each opened and read their instructions and then proceeded to burn the letters over the candelabrum in the center of the table.

"Excellent," said Crocodile in a smooth voice, "Now, since you are in the wealthiest establishment of this city, I thought it would be only fitting if a party was held in honour of this occasion."

He raised his hand and gestured towards the staircase.

The doors opened and a line of waiters appeared bringing trays of food and drink.

"Well isn't this a nice surprise," said the woman with purple hair, looking at Crocodile, "What are you playing at?"

"Well, Miss Easter, today we have a special guest," said Crocodile and he left the table and approached Hawke's cage, "I think we could use some entertainment."

He withdrew a package from his cloak and pushed it through the bars.

"Put this on," he muttered and then returned to the table.

Hawke shook her head, clearing the last of the haziness from her body.

The package fell to the floor. She shakily picked it up and opened it.

Her eyes widened as she saw its contents and she looked back to Crocodile.

"Go ahead," he said, gesturing to the far corner of the cage, "Isn't it pretty?"

Hawke backed into the corner and kneeled down. She held up the contents of the package.

It seemed that Crocodile had taken the man outside the casino's advice.

Inside the package was a black dancer's outfit, lined with gold sequins and silver tassels.

She lowered the clothes and stared uncertainly out at the table.

The Baroques Works members had already begun eating and were no longer paying any attention to her. Except for Crocodile, that is. She saw him glancing periodically in her direction.

"Come on, Hawke," he called over the noise the rest of the people were making, "I'm not the kind of man you want to disappoint."

Hawke shuddered. She knew he was being serious, despite his smile.

She squeezed as far back into the shadows as she could and began changing.

_How can this be happening?_ she thought, horrified at herself, _why am I doing this? Why am I doing what he says?_

But it was as if her body had a mind of its own; it wouldn't listen to her brain telling it to stop.

_Maybe the drug he gave me is still having an effect,_ she thought.

Hawke managed to change quickly and without drawing any unwanted attention. Crocodile was preoccupied with his company.

She folded up her clothes and put them under the small bench. Then she sat down on the bench and waited.

_Why is this be happening again?_ she thought, looking out at the rowdy group.

More people had joined the party, coming down the stairs and joining in the feast._ They're probably the millions he mentioned earlier,_ thought Hawke.

The room was quickly turned into a raucous party, with music blaring, more people joining by then minute, and barrels of sake being brought in at regular intervals.

Hawke looked down at her hands. She was being made to dance for entertainment again, just like when she was on that pirate ship. She had thought that she would never be brought down this low again.

Hawke watched Crocodile through the bars. The crocodiles in the aquarium had told her she was not safe with him, that he wasn't going to let her go free. She shivered again; she hoped that Luffy and the others would gtet here soon.

The dinner had been underway for hours before Crocodile finally brought his attention back to Hawke.

"Good, you've changed," he said, getting up and coming over to the cage.

He unlocked the door and entered.

As he approached her, Hawke could see a faint flushing on his cheeks.

_He's drunk_, she thought, _this isn't good._

"You should come dance for us, Angel," he said and grabbed her arm, dragging her out of her cage.

"Won't she escape like that?" asked Mister 2.

Crocodile took a chain and a ring-like object out of his pocket.

"No!" cried Hawke, as she realized what the ring was. A collar.

Crocodile laughed menacingly and clamped the collar around her neck, attaching the chain to it.

"That'll do it," muttered Mister 1.

Hawke stood, mortified. She was being treated as a pet?!

Crocodile shoved Hawke out into an empty space on the floor.

"Now dance," he said.

"Yeah!" cried the crowd of millions. And they all gathered around, eagerly awaiting the spectacle.

Hawke stood resolute and shook her head.

"Don't defy me, little girl," he snarled and turned his hand into sand.

He formed the sand into a whip and struck Hawke across her chest.

She cried out in pain and bent over.

"That stings, doesn't it?" sneered Crocodile, "You don't want that to repeat itself, do you?"

Hawke straightened up and shook her head again.

She would not be someone else's plaything, not again!

Crocodile hit Hawke again and again, this time aiming at her legs. The strokes left large red welts on her skin.

"Let her know her place, Boss!" shouted a million form the back of the room.

"Don't spoil my appetite," Robin snapped in Crocodiles direction.

"I wouldn't have to if this little imp did as she was told," said Crocodile and he jerked the chain.

This caused Hawke to be thrown forward. She fell onto the ground at Crocodiles feet.

"Look at you," he said, staring down at her, his eyes shining, "You look so nice down there, in your little dress, kneeling at my feet."

The millions in the room jeered and made cat calls.

Hawke staggered up, choking, and backed away. Her heart was beating out of her chest. She was so scared she could barely move. She just wanted to escape this place.

"I didn't say you could go," snapped Crocodile, pulling on the chain again.

Hawke stepped closer.

"That's it," he said, "Now dance for this fine company," he gestured to the table.

Hawke looked at the other guests.

Mister 2 was looking at her with a pained expression on his face, it reminded her of Bran.

Miss Easter was watching Crocodile with gleaming eyes.

Mister 1 and Miss All Sunday were staring at her coldly. Hawke couldn't read either of their faces.

Miss Merry Christmas and Mister 4 were staring at her blankly.

Then her gaze drifted to the many other men and women filling the room behind the table. They were all drinking and laughing at her.

"Come on," goaded Crocodile, hitting the floor at her feet with his sand whip, "Dance for us."

Hawke's eyes watered and her chest and legs stung. She knew that the only way she could avoid pain was to dance, but she didn't want to feel like an object again.

She didn't know what to do. Then she saw a small movement out of the corner of her eye. It was Robin.

Miss All Sunday was looking at her intently. She raised her hand to the brim of her hat, hiding her face from the agents at the table.

Hawke watched as the Baroque Works agent moved her lips almost imperceptibly.

"For me," Robin mouthed, "A friend."

Hawke's eyes widened and she stared.

"What are you looking at?" asked Crocodile, turning around.

Seeing Robin, Crocodile smiled.

"Is she bothering you Miss All Sunday?" he asked.

"No," said Robin, coldly.

As Crocodile turned around again, her gaze returned to Hawke's.

Hawke blinked and she understood.

Robin wanted her to dance. Not as a slave for entertainment, but as a friend showing off. She didn't seem to want Hawke to get hurt and she was offering a way out. Hawke knew that she had been right in trusting Robin.

_Still, this will be a difficult frame of mind to keep up,_ she thought, glancing at the crowd around her.

Hawke looked down at her feet, then up at Crocodile. She would get this over with as fast as she could.

"Come to a decision have we?" he laughed at her.

Hawke nodded and held up her arms, steeling her nerves and glancing at Robin.

"I'll need music," she said quietly.

Crocodile eagerly waved his hook and the blaring music changed to a medium paced dance beat.

The crowd cheered.

The look on Crocodile's face frightened Hawke. He was looking at her with greedy eyes. It made her feel like she was something that he wanted to collect.

Hawke let the music play for a few bars, then her hips began to sway.

She tried to keep her eyes on Robin, but the expressions on the men's faces quickly got harder to ignore. Hawke could feel her face start to flush. She stumbled and tried to quell to mounting feeling of mortification rising in her chest.

"Keep going!" shouted a man and threw his mug at her.

It hit one of Hawke's outstretched arms and caused her to stumble again. But she kept dancing. She kept her hips swaying and brought her arms back up, waving and bending them in time with the music.

She started moving her feet. Twirling and moving across the floor in front of Crocodile as far as her chain would let her.

_Just get it over with_, she kept repeating in her head, _you're showing off to Robin, remember. Dance for your friend, like on the marine ship._

Hawke knew she was a good dancer. She had had many years to develop her skills in this area. She knew what to do and how to move to make sure her audience was entertained.

The crowd's tone gradually changed too. Instead of hearing jeers and taunts, Hawke started receiving actual applause and whistles. This gave her a little bit of confidence.

She slowly made her way closer to Crocodile, keeping her steps in time with the music. He was watching her with wide eyes, his mouth slightly open. Hawke felt a sudden urge to run as far away from this place as she could. She quickly glanced at Robin to keep her focus.

Robin met her gaze. Hawke felt her will steady again. She took a breath and stepped closer to Crocodile. Hawke was now standing in the space between Crocodiles spread legs. She turned her back to him and raised her arms above her head, showing off her figure.

"You're a pretty thing…" he said, breathing in shakily.

Hawke felt his fingers tracing her tattoo down her back. She willed herself not to shudder and continued to dance. She moved away from Crocodile and started to circle his chair.

While she was doing this, she took the opportunity to look at the other Baroques Works members.

The men were watching her. Mister 1's eyes were fixed on her hips, moving back and forth with her movement. Mister 2 was watching her with an expression of mixed amusement and pity, craning his neck. _He must be trying to see my tattoo,_ she thought. Mister 4 was staring at her, but he didn't seem to be registering what was going on, he was just laughing slowly and pulling on his scarf.

Miss Easter still had her eyes on Crocodile. But her expression had changed. She looked troubled or confused. As Hawke was making her way around the chair, her eyes met Miss Easter's. The agent glared at her, hatred clearly showing in her eyes. Hawke was a little taken aback by this. Then she saw Miss Easter's eyes go back to Crocodile, a frown on her face.

_Maybe she likes Crocodile_, thought Hawke, coming around the other side of the chair.

The other woman, dressed in leather, had gotten up and was flirting with some millions off to one side and Miss Merry Christmas was banging her fist on the table and complaining about everything and everyone.

Hawke faced Crocodile again and looked over his head at Robin, trying to keep up her confidence.

She turned her attention to the music. It was in the midst of a grand finale.

She quickened her steps. Weaving her hands and hips, twirling around, she made the tassels on her dress fly out and the sequins sparkle.

As the music reached its crescendo, Hawke fell to her knees at Crocodiles feet, holding out her arms towards him.

_There,_ she thought, _it's done. It's over._

The room was silent for a few seconds.

Then is bursting into applause.

"Encore!" the millions were shouting.

"That was quite the performance," said Mister 1, "Are you sure she's the Strawhats' scout? We should keep her."

Crocodile grunted, his eyes still on the kneeling girl in front of him.

Hawke raised her head and looked tentatively at the Warlord, hoping that she had done enough and that he would take this humiliating collar and chain off her.

He was watching her with a strange expression on his face. He looked like he was caught between happiness and shock and had a far away look in his eyes.

_Well that's weird_, Hawke thought nervously, _what is he thinking?_

Suddenly, a group of millions ran by with a huge plate of food. As they ran behind Hawke, the man in front tripped and the rest of the group fell on top of him. Food spilled everywhere.

This seemed to snap Crocodile out of his thoughts. He got up and pulled on the chain, more gently this time, bringing Hawke to a standing position.

"Clean this up!" he snapped at the milions, suddenly serious, "It's time we got back to business."

The room quieted quickly at his change in tone.

Crocodile jerked the chain and led Hawke back into her cage.

The people hurried about, cleaning up the mess and removing the plates of food.

"You stay here and keep quiet. I'll call on you again later," he muttered.

He removed the collar around her neck, looked her up and down, then left and locked the cage again.

Hawke shivered and ran back to the farthest corner of the cage, grabbing her clothes from under the bench.

"Don't change," snapped Crocodile, sitting back in his chair.

Hawke put down her clothes again. She hesitated, then picked up her jacket and put it on to cover herself a little. _Why does he want me to stay in this dress_? she thought, not wanting to believe the obvious reason.

Crocodile frowned but he didn't say anything. He turned and addressed the people at the table.

"We know that Straw Hat Luffy and his crew are helping Vivi in trying to reach the rebel city and may in fact be on their way here. Your job is to make sure they do not meet the rebel leader at any cost. Bring them to me!"

He stood up. The other agents rose with him.

"Go," ordered Crocodile and the group headed for the door.

Hawke watched as the agents left the room, followed by the millions. Only Miss All Sunday and Crocodile remained.

"That takes care of that," said Crocodile, sitting down again.

"It would seem so," said Miss All Sunday, "But you cut their party short."

"You should go see them out," muttered Crocodile, ignoring her comment and lighting another cigar, "I don't want any of them sneaking around this place."

"Yes, sir," said Miss All Sunday and she made her way out of the room.

Crocodile sat at the table, puffing on his cigar.

"That was quite the performance, Angel," he said, glancing at Hawke through the bars.

She shivered and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Now, don't be shy," he said, standing up, "You are very talented."

_Just like her,_ he thought, approaching the bars.

"Why don't you take off that jacket and give me another, private, performance," Crocodile said slyly, watching Hawke.

She looked up at him. Seeing he was still drunk, she then quickly down to her feet again.

_He's just like that pirate captain,_ she thought, her memories flooding back to her. When she had been chained to the mast and was only kept from being assaulted by the first mate. And even then, he hadn't been there all of the time. _This is just like before_…, her body started shaking all over.

"What's wrong?" asked Crocodile sharply, "Are you sick?"

He unlocked the cage and came in.

Hawke stayed where she sat, too petrified to move.

_No,_ she wanted to scream, _stay away from me! _She reached her hand inside her jacket.

Crocodile was almost close enough to grab Hawke. He reached out his hand to take her arm.

"Not again!" Hawke screamed.

She whipped out a knife and sliced at the hand that was extending towards her.

"What the-?!" Crocodile shouted and pulled back his hand, looking at the blood that was beginning to pool at the cut.

Hawke dodged Crocodiles attempt to grab her with his hook and ran out the open cage door, slamming it behind her.

_That should keep him busy for a while_, she thought as she ran up the steps, _I'm getting out of this horrible place!_

"Miss All Sunday!" yelled Crocodile.

Hawke was almost at the top of the steps when Robin came running back into the room. The agent stopped and quickly took in the situation.

"Grab the girl!" shouted Crocodile from the cage.

He was fumbling with the key in the lock.

Hawke hadn't stopped running when Robin had entered and was about to make a dash past her.

"Move!" Hawke shouted, holding her weapon out threateningly.

Miss All Sunday moved out of the way of Hawke's flailing knife.

"What are you doing?!" shouted Crocodile, "Catch her, now!"

Hawke had almost reached the doors. She stretched out her hand. _Almost there,_ she thought.

Just then she felt her legs jerk together, causing her to fall to the ground.

"What?" she gasped, looking down.

An arm had sprouted out of her ankle and wrapped itself around her legs, keeping them pinned together.

"What's happening?!" she gasped again.

Then she raised her eyes and saw Robin standing there, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Forgive me," she heard Miss All Sunday's barely audible whisper.

Hawke blinked. Robin must have devil fruit powers! She could make her arms sprout out of things.

_I wonder if she can sprout other body parts_? thought Hawke and then shook her head, _but I can't think about that now._ She quickly hid the knife in her wings, using her jacket as a cover.

_I won't let them take my knives away_, she thought.

She lowered her head, bringing her hand back out and placing it on the ground. She hadn't been able to escape. Now she would be tortured for sure. Her body curled up at the thought of the punishment she would now surely receive.

Crocodile had finally gotten himself out of the cage and was storming up the steps.

"Did you really think you could escape?" he seethed at her, his voice deadly calm, "Even if you had gotten out these doors, there are six more top Baroques Works agents just outside who would have no trouble taking you out."

Hawke stared at the floor. He was right. She would have just been caught by the other agents. And they might not have been as gentle as Robin had been in catching her.

Crocodile picked her up roughly by her jacket collar.

"You try to pull another stunt like this and I won't be as gentle with you," he whispered threateningly into her ear.

Hawke whimpered and clutched at the hand holding her up.

"I'm sorry," she said in a weak, trembling voice.

Crocodile smiled menacingly and carried her back down the stairs by her collar. He ripped her jacket off her before throwing her into the cage and locking the door.

Hawke stared up at him, fear clearly showing in her eyes.

Crocodile sneered down at her and drew a long breath on his cigar, blowing the smoke into Hawke's face.

"You're mine now."


	23. Chapter 23: An Unforeseen Connection

Hawke curled into a ball on the floor of the cage.

Crocodile turned and addressed Miss All Sunday, who was still at the top of the stairs.

"I would have thought you'd be faster in catching an escapee," he snapped.

"She was brandishing a knife," said Miss All Sunday quietly.

Crocodile turned his attention back to Hawke's jacket, still hanging from his hook. He turned it inside out and shook it.

Nothing fell out.

"Where did that knife come from, Angel?" he moved over to the cage and looked threateningly down at Hawke.

She sat up and faced him.

"I threw it away," she stated, her voice still shaking.

She heard movement on the stairs.

"There's no knife up here," Miss All Sunday called down.

Crocodile eye's searched Hawke. She could tell he was angry, but curious.

"Where did that knife come from, Hawke?" he asked again, his voice deepening.

The scout looked up at him.

"You won't find it," she said, gaining a little more confidence.

Crocodile stayed staring down at her.

"You shouldn't have been able to cut me," he said, sounding a little too arrogant.

This pushed a button in Hawke.

"You let your guard down!" snapped Hawke, tossing her head angrily.

_He's so full of himself!_ she thought.

Crocodile smiled and looked down at her.

"You're fiery," he said quietly through the bars, "I like my girls fiery."

Hawke blushed, but she kept glaring at him. She felt angry for some reason. Her fear had lessened and was replaced with a feeling of immense irritation.

Crocodile turned away.

"Miss All Sunday," he said, "You may go complete your mission."

"Yes, sir," said Miss All Sunday.

Hawke heard the doors close. She looked out at Crocodile. He was pacing the floor in front of the cage.

"You are a very interesting young lady," he finally said.

Hawke rose.

The atmosphere had suddenly changed the moment Robin had left. She didn't feel scared or endangered anymore. It was like Crocodile's threatening aura had suddenly vanished and was replaced with… something else. Hawke couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Crocodile stopped pacing and stood looking at her with the same strange expression on his face.

_It's just like when I finished dancing, _ thought Hawke.

The Warlord slowly walked over to the cage until he was as close to the bars as he could be without touching them.

"What are you doing?" asked Hawke, feeling uneasy.

Crocodile smiled menacingly.

"I'm just admiring my new treasure," he breathed.

Hawke shuddered.

"You don't like being my treasure?" asked Crocodile, pretending to look hurt.

"I don't want to belong to anyone!" snapped Hawke, standing tall, her eyes flashing, "I just want to be free!"

Crocodile froze. His eyes widened and, for a moment, it seemed to Hawke that he had lost his composure. His lips quivered, his face grew a shade paler, and his mouth fell slightly open.

_What's wrong with him?_ thought Hawke, giving in to her fear and backing away from the bars.

"Wait," snapped Crocodile.

He seemed to have come to his senses, or at least some of them.

Hawke froze.

"Come here, Angel," he whispered suddenly, trying to reach his hand through the bars.

Hawke stayed where she was.

"Come here," he repeated, a threatening note creeping into his voice.

Hawke hesitated, then slowly moved forward again.

"You're from the East Blue, like the rest of the Strawhats?" he asked, lowering his hand and staring at her intently.

The question caught Hawke off-guard and she nodded automatically.

"Who are your parents?" he questioned her again.

"What?" retorted Hawke, tossing her head, "Why are you so interested?"

Crocodile's eyes widened again. He took his cigar out of his mouth.

_It can't be_, he thought, _There's no way…_

Hawke was still glaring at him.

Crocodile turned away and started back towards his chair at the head of the table. He sat down heavily. Hawke saw his hand grip the armrest tightly.

"It's impossible," she heard him muttered under his breath.

"What's impossible?" she asked, curious.

Suddenly, Crocodile turned his body into sand and swept up to the bars. Hawke shrieked and leapt back as he tried to reach her through the bars. The look on his face terrified her.

"You can't be!" he spat, in a rage, "She couldn't have!"

"Wh-what?" gasped Hawke.

She had fallen onto her knees and was gazing up in horror at the Warlord towering over her.

Then, just as suddenly as he'd leapt into a rage, Crocodile calmed down. He stood looking down at Hawke, but his face was no longer disfigured by anger. He was back in his cool, collected mood.

"How old are you, Angel?" he asked, his voice calm and steady.

"S-seventeen," she stuttered.

Crocodile's brow furrowed. Then he spun around and returned to his chair.

"Why do you want to know?" asked Hawke, standing up.

"No reason," muttered Crocodile.

"You said something about a "she"," she said, excitedly, "What did you mean?"

"Nothing!" snapped Crocodile, "Shut up and sit down."

Hawke didn't move.

"Please tell me," she pleaded, her wish to know more about her past was stronger than her instinct to stay quiet.

Crocodile looked at the girl in the cage.

_It doesn't make any sense_, he thought, _but she looks so much like her…_

He closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"I was mistaken," he said, regaining his composure, "Now how about you give me that private performance," he sneered.

Hawke stiffened.

Crocodile laughed and stood up. He came over and unlocked the cage.

"Come out," he said, "If you try to escape I won't hesitate to make sure you never see your friends again."

He raised his hand and a wall of sand suddenly appeared in front of the staircase, blocking the only escape route.

Hawke glared at him.

"Get out here," he snapped, waving his hook threateningly, "I won't be able to see you through these bars."

Hawke slowly walked out of the cage. She stopped when she was in front of Crocodile. He left the cage door open and sat back down in his chair.

He pressed a button on the arm of his chair and music suddenly started to play from somewhere Hawke couldn't see.

"Go on," he goaded her, waving his hook.

Hawke stared at him. She was still standing in the entrance of the cage. She wasn't sure what was going on. But she knew that she wouldn't be able to make it to the doors again. She turned her attention to the man sitting in front of her. Something was different… She still didn't feel threatened and as long as she was out of his reach, she felt safer.

Crocodile was watching her.

_Well,_ she thought, _I guess as long as I stay away from his chair I could humor him_. She raised her arms and began swaying again.

She danced around in front of the cage, stealing glances in Crocodiles direction whenever she could. His eyes were fixed on her, although they would move from her hips to her back to her arms and back again. She could see his one hand, which was resting on his knee, clench up every now and then, gripping his knee tightly before relaxing.

_This man is such a pervert_, she thought.

But, for some reason, she felt that she was almost enjoying herself. There weren't throngs of people around her, crowding her and jeering at her. She was still wary of Crocodile, but she had the feeling he would stay in his chair, and this thought gave her a little freedom to enjoy her own movements.

_He isn't even looking at me anymore_, she noted as she cast a glance over to the table.

Crocodile had lowered his head and was staring into his lap.

Hawke continued to dance, trying to focus her thoughts on her friends and wondering where they were now and if they were okay.

_Please hurry, Luffy, Zoro,_ she thought.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Crocodile watched his prisoner dance around the room in front of him.

_She even moves the same way,_ he thought, resting his head on his fist.

He let out a small burp.

"Might have overdid it with the sake," he muttered.

He sat and pleasantly enjoyed his private performance.

A few moments passed and then his vision blurred suddenly, he blinked and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and fore-finger.

For a moment, he had seen a second person, a shadow, dancing behind Hawke, mirroring her movements.

"Must have been a trick of the light," he muttered, shifting in his seat.

The image of a woman with white hair and a blue dress, gracefully twirling in a circle, flitted into his mind.

The Warlord looked down at his hand. His bare ring finger stuck out glaringly against his other, ring-laden fingers. He clenched his fist.

_I've come too far to be regretting that,_ he thought, still looking at his bare finger, _I don't deserve to have these feelings_, _I don't deserve to miss her._

He looked back up at Hawke. The music had slowed and she was now waltzing around the room.

_She looks like she's having fun,_ he thought.

She had a faint smile on her face and she was dancing with her eyes closed.

Crocodile watched her smile. He could feel his memories starting to surface. Usually at times like this, he would distract himself by beating up pirates or playing with his bananawari. But this time, as he watched the young woman bending her arms in time to the music, he let himself get pulled back to a time when his ambitions had been shattered.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Crocodile watched the people mill around the tavern. He took another large gulp of his drink, feeling it burn all the way down his throat.

"Those damn bastards," he muttered darkly, clenching his fist and slamming it down on the table.

The plates and cutlery rattled and the people at the neighboring table cast annoyed looks in his direction.

_Screw them_, he thought, draining the last drops form his tankard and slamming it back onto the table.

"You seem pretty upset," said a quiet voice from beside him.

Crocodile started and glanced at the waitress as she began clearing his table.

"Would you like a refill, sir?" she asked, giving him a smile.

"Make it a double," he muttered and thrust the mug out at her.

She took it.

"As you wish," she smiled and turned to leave.

"Hang on a second," said Crocodile, holding out his arm.

"Yes?" she looked down at him questioningly.

"Why is your hair white?" he asked.

The girl's face suddenly lost its smile.

"Why are you so interested?" she snapped, tossing her silvery hair.

"It looks funny," he stared at her through bleary eyes, taking in her figure, which her black pants and crop top showed off quite nicely.

The girl sighed.

"It's what I was born with, sir," she said tersely.

"Why don't you join me on my ship," he sneered, "You can be my little treasure."

The waitress's eyes flashed.

"I don't want to belong to anyone," she snapped, tossing her head, "I want to be free! And I have a feeling I wouldn't be free if I was your "little treasure"."

The girl quickly spun around and walked away from him.

Crocodile watched her as she disappeared into the kitchen, then reemerged and went over to the bar. She filled up his mug and started back towards him.

"Here you are, sir," she smiled and placed the drink on the table in front of him.

The man grunted and snatched it up. She seemed to have recovered from his little insult.

The waitress turned to go, but then she hesitated.

"You know," she said, "If you're feeling down, you should stick around for the show in a coupe minutes. I'm sure the girls will make you feel better."

Crocodile jerked his face away from her.

"Those little girls won't want to get anywhere near me," he muttered.

"Don't say that," smiled the girl.

Crocodile lifted his face and removed the cloak he'd been using to hide his left arm.

He watched as the girl's eyes widened at the sight of his scar and his glinting hook.

"They wouldn't dare come close to me," he spat and threw the cloak back over his arm.

The girl looked down at him, her green eyes wide and shining.

Crocodile waited for the pity that always came from people when they were forced to acknowledge his disfigurements.

He used to be feared, respected even, but after that battle… after that crushing defeat… even his crew had abandoned him, out of pity.

He waited for the excuse to vent his anger and frustration on these stupid, pitying people.

The girl looked down at him. Crocodile stared up at her, his pain unknowingly showing in his eyes.

Then she smiled, bent down and brushed a stray hair away from his face.

"You look mighty handsome to me," she laughed, "I don't think they'll be able to keep their hands off you."

Crocodile's mouth fell open. He stared, not believing what he had just heard.

Just then someone shouted across the bar.

"Cielle, you're on in two!"

The girl looked over her shoulder.

"I'll be right there," she called.

Some cheers started up around the bar.

"Cielle's coming on!"

"I've been waiting all night for this."

The girl looked back down at Crocodile.

"I'm sorry, sir," she smiled, "But I have to go. You'll have to put up with me before you get your girls."

She winked at him and moved away towards the kitchen.

Crocodile sat, staring into his drink until the dimming of the lights attracted his attention.

_She was lying,_ he thought as the crowd settled.

A spotlight suddenly shone on a large, but run down looking stage, illuminating a dusty looking microphone.

A man walked up to the microphone and cleared his throat.

"And now the moment you've been waiting around here all day for," he greeted the crowded.

The room erupted in applause and cat calls.

"The pride of our little Grand Line community," the man continued, "The lovely ladies of the Howling Harpy Tavern will entertain you mangy pirates. And to start the evening off with a bang: I give you the gorgeous, Miss Solace D. Cielle!"

Crocodile watched as his waitress appeared on stage. She had changed from her uniform into a sky blue dress.

Cielle cleared her throat and began singing into the microphone. Her song began slowly, but then she was joined by some backup singers and the pace picked up. She began dancing around the stage, twirling and spinning, her dress flowing around her like a liquid.

Crocodile couldn't remember what the song was or how long it went on for. His eyes stayed locked on Cielle and, even when he felt a tear fall down his cheek, he couldn't look away.

"She was lying…" he whispered, trying to ignore the fact that he could feel his heart beating against his rib cage.

He didn't even stay to watch the other performers. As soon as Cielle left the stage, Crocodile stood up and exited the tavern. He stopped outside the doorway to light his cigar.

A group of men walked passed him and into the bar, casting fearful looks his way.

But Crocodile ignored them

"Solace D. Cielle," he sighed into the night.

Crocodile soon became a regular at the Howling Harpy.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Crocodile snapped back to reality.

He took a moment to remember what had been going on. He quickly banished the memories and emotions that had risen in his mind, burying them beneath his ambitions.

He looked up and surveyed the room.

The music had stopped and there was no movement in the room.

He sprang up.

Where was she?!

He swiftly crossed the room and made for the stairs, his sand wall was still in place. As he passed the table, some colour caught his eye.

He stopped.

Hawke was slumped against the wall on the far side of the room, fast asleep.

"What a considerate captive," he muttered, a grin slipping onto his face.

He stood over the sleeping girl.

Hawke seemed to sense his presence, shifting and frowning, but not waking up.

Crocodile drew a long breath on his cigar.

"Well, whether you have a connection to her or not," he muttered, picking up his prisoner, "You seem to be a very important young woman."

He returned to his chair, bringing Hawke with him.

"There we go, Angel," he muttered and sat down, leaning her against his chest.

He rested his chin on Hawke's head.

He traced the small ridges of her tattoo.

"So you're the Dark Angel of the prophecy," he muttered at the room, "That's an unfair misfortune that fate has given you."

Crocodile was a clever man. He already knew about the Dark Angel Prophecy and he had concluded from Miss All Sundays' information and Hawke's tattoo that she was, in fact, the subject of the prophecy.

_The name my minions gave you can't just be a coincidence,_ he thought.

"It's a shame that such a pretty face is the arch-enemy of the World Government," he said, looking down at Hawke's sleeping form.

She shivered and shifted in her sleep.

Crocodile stood up and approached the windows, still holding Hawke. There was a sudden movement and a group of banana crocodiles swam up to the glass.

"Hello, kids," he said, pressing his good hand against the glass and supporting Hawke with his hook, "Did you have a good snack out of that stupid Mister 3?"

The crocodiles pressed their noses against the glass opposite his hand. Then they caught sight of Hawke and started swimming around frantically, hitting their snouts off the glass and snapping at their master.

Crocodile lowered his hand and took a step back.

"What's this?" he asked, frowning, "Why are you so worked up?"

He turned and went back to his chair again, placing Hawke in the seat.

_She's so light I could probably lift her with one finger,_ he thought.

"Well, I better make sure she stays agreeable until we can trap the pirates," he muttered.

Crocodile searched through his pockets and pulled out another syringe.

He quickly injected the contents into Hawke's arm. The girl let out a faint groan, but didn't wake up.

The crocodiles started to beat themselves against the glass again, even more frantically than last time.

"Calm down!" shouted Crocodile, "Stupid animals."

A crocodile with the scar on his snout stopped and stared at his master, then at the girl in the chair. She didn't seem to be disturbed or hurt. The crocodile flicked his tail and swam away. The remaining crocodiles calmed down and swam in slow circles, coming in close to the glass as they turned.

"My kids seem to have taken a liking to you," he said to Hawke.

Her body was leaning against the arm of the chair and her head was resting at an angle on the back rest, tilting her face upwards. The patterns cast by the light moving through the water shone over her face and chest.

Crocodile clenched his hand. He kept replaying the visions of her dancing in his head.

"So much like _her_," he whispered.

_No,_ he told himself, _keep those feelings buried. You have no use or right to hope for them anymore._

He took a breath and steeled his heart. Reminding himself of his present goal and how close he was to achieving it.

"I might take Mister 1 up on his suggestion and keep you," he muttered, "If the Government doesn't find out about you, you won't pose a threat."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

Crocodile started and swiftly tore off his cloak, throwing it over his chair, covering Hawke under it in the process.

"Enter," he said.

The door opened and Miss All Sunday descended the steps.

"The millions have just reported in. Strawhat Luffy and his crew are in the city along with the Princess," she reported.

Crocodile let out a sinister laugh and turned to face the aquarium.

"Show the filthy rats in," he said.

"Yes, sir," said Miss All Sunday and retreated out of the room.

Crocodile looked over his shoulder and saw her cast a glance at the empty cage, but she said nothing and left.

Once the door had closed, Crocodile retrieved his cloak and sat down, lifting Hawke out of the way and placing her on his lap.

Hawke was still asleep and leaned limply against his chest.

"You hardly seem a threat, Dark Angel," he whispered into the empty room, "How can you be the key to bring chaos or peace?"

Hawke mumbled in her sleep.

Her voice echoed through his thoughts as he sat in the silence.

"I don't want to belong to anyone! I want to be free!"

"It's just a coincidence," he muttered to the empty room.


	24. Chapter 24: The Crew Reunited

Luffy, Nami, Zoro and Usopp were running down a hallway.

They had lost Sanji, Chopper and Vivi outside and hadn't had time to find them since they were being chased by the marine Smoker.

They had made it into the casino and had been shown into the V.I.P room.

Luffy had taken off down a hallway and now they were running around trying to find the room where Crocodile was.

"But what's a VIP?" asked Luffy.

Usopp pointed ahead.

"Oi! The hallway splits up!" he shouted, "It says VIPs go left."

"It says pirates go the other way," panted Nami.

"Which way should we go?" asked Luffy in a panic.

"Hurry up and choose," snapped Zoro.

"Of course, we'll take the VIP," said Usopp with confidence.

"But we're pirates!" exclaimed Luffy, "And pirates go this way!"

He turned down the right hallway.

"Yeah, you got a point there," said Usopp, following the captain.

Nami and Zoro followed suit.

"Straw Hat!" shouted Smoker as he rounded the corner and came to a sudden stop.

The crew reached a dead end.

Just then, the floor opened up and the Strawhats and Smoker fell into darkness.

"What the hell's going on!" yelled the marine as they tumbled down.

"I can't believe we fell for this," muttered Zoro.

"We're falling into darkness!" exclaimed Usopp, "Better swim for it!"

Nami just screamed.

"It's a pit!" shouted Luffy, plummeting down head first.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Hawke slowly became aware of her surroundings.

She was quite warm and comfortable. It felt like she was under a blanket.

She nuzzled her head against her pillow.

_I must be back on the Merry_, she thought, _wait… that isn't right._

The events of the past two weeks came flooding back to her. She tried to get up, but her legs wouldn't move.

_Not this again,_ she thought hopelessly.

Her eyes slowly opened, but her vision was blurry. _What's going on?_ She thought. All she saw was darkness.

Hawke tried to get a bearing on her surroundings. She felt something beneath her. Her feet were dangling in the air.

_So I'm sitting on something then,_ she determined.

Suddenly she became aware of a muffled voice. She moved her hand up and held her pounding head.

_He must have drugged me again. I don't feel very well,_ she let out a weak moan.

"Ah, look who's awake now," she heard a voice say.

Suddenly her blanket was taken off her and light flooded her vision.

"Hawke!" she heard a voice cry out.

"How did he get her?!" she heard another voice.

"Luffy?" she said weakly, "Zoro?"

"We're here Hawke," shouted Luffy, "We'll save you!"

"What did you do to her?" she heard another voice exclaim.

"Nami?" she choked and wobbled on her seat.

"Woah there, Angel," said a voice from above her, "We don't want you falling off now do we?"

Hawke turned her blurry eyes upwards and looked behind her.

She was met with Crocodile's gaze and, at the same time, she became aware of his hand, which was still holding her waist.

"No," she tried to cry out and lurched her body in an attempt to escape, "Luffy help me!"

"Let her go!" she heard Luffy shout.

"Get your hands off her!" Zoro seethed.

She still couldn't see clearly and didn't have control over her movements. Crocodile easily brought her back onto his leg.

_How did I get here!_ she thought, horrified at her situation.

The last she could remember was collapsing from exhaustion after dancing for as long as she could. She remembered that Crocodile had been staring at the floor, not taking any interest in her, so she had let herself relax.

_I must have fallen asleep,_ she thought, _but what happened after?_

She shuddered.

"This beautiful creature says she's your scout," said Crocodile, "I can tell by your reaction that this is true."

"You leave Hawke alone!" shouted Usopp.

"Do you have any idea how important this girl is?" laughed Crocodile, stroking Hawkes cheek with his hook, "You clearly don't value her enough to protect her from being kidnapped."

"Luffy…" moaned Hawke, trying to clear her vision.

"She's calling for her captain," taunted Crocodile, "Are you going to save her, Strawhat? Or are you just all talk?"

"Shut up!" shouted Luffy, "Let Hawke go!"

"I think I'll keep her," said Crocodile, stroking Hawkes hair.

Hawke tried to push herself away from Crocodile. She could see the room more clearly now, although it hadn't stopped spinning. The only trace she could see of her crew was some shadows inside the cage. Her only thought was to get to Luffy.

The Warlord's hand closed down on her waist and she whimpered in pain.

"Just leave her alone, she doesn't have anything to do with this!" shouted a new voice.

This one didn't come from the cage.

Hawke looked down the table and saw Vivi on the ground by a chair. It looked like her hands were tied behind her back.

"Vivi?" she mumbled, holding her head.

"That's true," said Crocodile, turning to Vivi, "She has nothing to do with your country's war or Operation Utopia. However," he said slyly, pulling Hawke closer to him, "She is of even greater importance to the world's fate."

Miss All Sunday came into Hawke's vision. She was standing near Crocodile, a few steps behind him.

He didn't see when the agent glanced uneasily at him as he spoke those words. But Hawke did.

There was a sudden movement in the cage.

"What are you talking about Crocodile?" Smoker had gotten up off the bench he had been sitting on and approached the bars.

_What is he doing here?_ thought Hawke.

"I see you aren't important enough to know, Smoker," laughed Crocodile, "I didn't mean to catch you in my trap. It's a pity you'll have to die with these pirates. But don't worry, I'll say you died honorably in battle with the pathetic Strawhats."

Smoker grunted but he stayed at the bars, staring at Hawke.

"Leave her out of this," said Vivi again.

Crocodile sighed.

"I'll give you a choice," he said, pulling a key out of a pocket, "Thousands of innocent lives? Or four crummy pirates who have no future ahead of them?"

He stood up, pulling Hawke to her feet. Hawke's legs still couldn't hold her weight and she sank to the floor. But she had some strength back in her arms and she tried to pull herself towards the cage.

"Just where do you think you're going?" asked Crocodile and he picked Hawke up and draped her over his shoulder.

"Hawke!" shouted Zoro, he took out his sword and slashed at the bars, "Get back here you creep!"

Crocodile ignored him.

Hawke craned her neck as far as she could, trying to see what Crocodile was doing.

He held out the key to Vivi, letting her see it before he dropped it on the ground at his feet.

The Princess was struggling with her bonds, trying to loosen them. She had just managed to free herself and make a frantic lunge for the key, when the floor opened up and the key fell.

"No!" shouted Viv, staring down into the banana crocodile feeding pen that the key had fallen into.

As she watched, a crocodile entered the pen and snatched up the key, swallowing it immediately.

"I'm sorry I was so careless in handling the key," sneered Crocodile.

He turned and snapped his fingers, a part of the wall opened up to show an underwater hallway.

"You have about an hour before this room self-destructs," laughed Crocodile, "I have no more use for it. It will fall into the depths of the Rainbase Lake."

He turned and started walking towards the doors, Hawke still draped over his shoulder. Miss All Sunday followed.

"Vivi! Do something!" shouted Luffy in a rage.

Crodoile paused and laughed.

"Pleading for your life already, Strawhat Luffy?" he sneered over his shoulder, "I guess everyone fears death."

Hawke strained to make out Luffy behind the bars of her previous prison.

_Why can't I move?_ she thought, tears of frustration coming to her eyes.

"If we die here," shouted Luffy, "Then who's going to kick his ass!"

Crocodile stiffened and turned.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, little man," he said darkly.

"You're the little one!" yelled Luffy through the bars.

Crocodile snapped his fingers.

A slab of the floor opened up and a huge banana crocodile swam up and into the room.

"If you're going to abandon them, now's the time Miss Wednesday," taunted Crocodile, "You want to stop the rebellion after all."

Hawke's eyes widened. Her vision had steadied and she could focus pretty clearly now, though she had not completely recovered.

She was facing a window looking out into the aquarium.

She gasped as she saw the banana crocodiles start lining up at the hole in the floor, waiting to get in.

"What are you doing!" she exclaimed, her voice was still weak, but it came out steady, "You leave my nakama alone!"

The crocodiles turned their attention to her.

"Yes, Princess," they said.

"What?" snapped Crocodile.

The line of crocodiles dispersed.

"What!?" he exclaimed, "What are you doing?" he yelled at the crocodiles, "Why are you listening to her?!"

Crocodile turned to the crocodile that had entered the room.

"You are forbidden to leave this room until you have killed all of them!" he shouted.

The crocodile looked at his master, then at Hawke.

"I'm sorry, Princess," he said, "Forgive me. I cannot disobey my master's direct orders."

"No!" panted Hawke.

Just then, they heard a ringing sound.

"A message," said Miss All Sunday, taking out a snail phone, "What is it?"

"Hello? Hello…" a voice came through the line.

_Sanji!_ Hawke recognized the chef's voice, _that's right, Chopper and Sanji are still outside._

"Thanks for calling. This is the Shitty Restaurant," Sanji continued.

"The Shitty Restaurant…," growled Crocodile.

"You seem to remember me," said Sanji, "I'm flattered."

"You must be the missing man on the Strawhat crew," muttered Crocodile, his features darkening, "Punk, who the hell are you?"

"Me," replied Sanji, "I'm Mister Prince."

He clenched his hand tighter around Hawke and she whimpered in pain.

"I see, Mister Prince," said Crocodile into the snail phone, "Where are you?"

"I'm not going to tell you," said Sanji, "If I did you'd come and kill me—" just then there was the sound of a shotgun.

"No," gasped Hawke.

There was a sudden silence on the line. Then another voice came through.

"Pesky bastard," it said, "Hello? We got him."

"Report your location!" demanded Crocodile.

"In the town of Rainbase," responded the voice, "Right outside the Rain Dinners casino."

Crocodile smiled and hung up the receiver.

"All is well," he said, turning to leave, "Let's go to the front gate."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the banana crocodile lunged forward and bite a huge chunk out of the stone staircase.

"Vivi!" Hawke heard Luffy shout.

Crocodile had turned around, so Hawke was facing away from everything.

"What's happening?" she panted and wiggled around, trying to see over her shoulder.

"Stay still," Crocodile said menacingly and clamped his hand down even harder on her waist.

"Ouch," cried Hawke.

Just then she felt a jolt. Looking around she saw that Crocodile had shot out his hook.

"Look out, Vivi!" she heard Luffy yell again.

Then she heard Vivi's scream.

"Stop hurting her!" seethed Hawke.

Her blood was rushing through her veins. She moved her arms back and forth, flexing them.

_Great, I can move them completely now_, she thought and proceeded to pound her fists against Crocodile's back.

"Don't try anything stupid," muttered Crocodile.

Hawke suddenly felt her hands being pulled back. She looked down and saw that Miss All Sunday's arms were immobilizing hers.

She groaned in frustration.

She could hear the shouts of her captain and crew; urging Vivi to wake up and save them.

_He must have thrown her down,_ thought Hawke, _I hope she's okay._

"If you love your nakama that much, go ahead and die with them," sneered Crocodile.

He turned and started walking down the hall, followed by Miss All Sunday.

Hawke finally got a full view of the room her friends were trapped in. The water was already covering the entire floor, and more was rushing in every second.

"No," cried Hawke faintly, "They'll drown!"

"Yes, I'm sorry Angel," said Crocodile as they neared the end of the corridor, "But if your friends are really this weak, you deserve better."

Hawke watched the water pouring in and reached out her hands. If only she could get her strength back!

"Luffy! Zoro! Nami! Usopp! Vivi!" she shouted.

"I've got to take care of this Mister Prince," muttered Crocodile.

Hawke froze. _That's right_, she thought, _Sanji's still out there, there's no way those millions could have actually shot him._

She looked back at the cage as it disappeared behind the door frame.

_Don't worry guys,_ she thought, _I'll find a way to get Sanji and Chopper down here and save you._

Crocodile carried Hawke back through the halls and into the casino.

_I need to remember the route!_ she thought.

Hawke started ripping sequences off of her dress and letting them fall behind Crocodile as he walked.

_There,_ she thought, _now I can find my way back_.

Before entering the main gambling room, Crocodile took Hawke off his shoulder and propped her against his side.

Hawke tried to stand away from the man, but her legs were still quite weak and she slumped against him, clinging to his robe.

"I can't have someone clinging to me like this," muttered Crocodile, "Take her Miss All Sunday."

Hawke let go of Crocodiles cloak and fell sideways. Miss All Sunday caught her hand.

"Come quietly now," she said and they followed Crocodile out into the casino.

Hawk was pulled along through the throng of people, barely managing to stay on her feet.

Her mind was racing. She had to get back to Luffy right now!

As she was pulled through a large group of people, Hawke felt someone grab her free hand. The hand that Robin was holding was suddenly jerked and Hawke lost sight of her and Crocodile.

The person who had grabbed her other hand was pulling her back the way she had come. Hawke turned to see who it was.

"Sanji!" she let out an excited whisper.

"I'm so glad to have found you Hawke-san," smile d Sanji.

Hawke looked over her shoulder.

"Won't they realise I'm missing?" she asked nervously.

"I slipped another woman's hand into hers when I rescued you," said Sanji, "She won't notice until they're over the bridge."

Just then there was an explosion outside.

"Speaking of which…" smiled Sanji, "Let's go Hawke-san, we have to find the rest of the crew."

Hawke tested each of her legs, but she lost her balance again and clung to Sanji for support.

"I know where they are," she said, "And we have to get there fast. But I can't walk like this."

Just then, they heard a voice from behind them.

"The bridge collapsed?! Oh no, I can't get outside now!"

Hawke turned.

"Vivi!" she gasped, "You're okay! I'm so glad."

Viv stopped in her tracks.

Sanji stepped out, Hawke still hanging on his arm.

"It's not that you can't get out," he said suavely, "It's that Baroque Works can't get back in."

Vivi gasped.

"Everything's going to plan," said Sanji, with a dramatic flourish of his cigarette, "Right now Chopper's running around the city as a decoy. We'd better hurry, the rebellion's started."

"Sanji-san!" exclaimed Vivi with a huge smile, "Hawke-san, you escaped!"

Hawke smiled.

"That was Sanji's doing too," she said.

"Just tell me where to go, Princess," said Sanji with his usual charm.

The three made to run back into the corridor, but Hawke tripped and fell.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, "Crocodile drugged me and I haven't got my strength back in my legs."

"He did what!?" shouted Sanji, scooping Hawke up in his arms, "That bastard will pay for what he's done."

Sanji and Vivi started running back towards the conference room.

"But Sanji-san," said Vivi, "I thought you were shot."

"Me?" smiled Sanji, and he proceeded to explain the plan that led Crocodile on a wild goose chase across Rainbase.

"Chopper will be alright, won't he?" asked Hawke, looking up at Sanji.

"Of course," said Sanji, "He's got a trick up his sleeve."

Then he looked down at Hawke.

"Do you love me, Hawke-chwan!" he exclaimed suddenly, "I'll carry you like this to the ends of the earth! I'll be your prince!"

"Calm down, Sanji," muttered Hawke, "Turn down that hallway."

The trio soon made it back to the conference room.

The crew inside the cage were screaming and yelling and the crocodile was pacing back and forth in front of the cage.

"If you'll excuse me, Hawke-san," said Sanji, putting her down lightly on the staircase.

The cook then jumped down and ran up behind the crocodile.

He kicked the crocodile in the stomach so hard that the poor animal was knocked out immediately.

"Did I keep you waiting?" asked Sanji, smiling at the crew in the cage.

They heard Zoro yell something, but Sanji was flailing his arms all over the place.

"Nami-san!" he swooned, "Do you love me?"

Suddenly they heard Luffy's voice.

"Vivi!" he shouted, "Good job!"

Vivi smiled and both girls gave the captain a thumbs-up.

"Oi, Hawke's there too!" cried Luffy, "Are you okay, Hawke?"

Hawke waved down at him.

"I'm fine Luffy," she smiled.

Just then, the crocodile that Sanji had knocked out spit out a large white ball.

"What is that?" asked Sanji.

"It's the key!" shouted Luffy.

"That doesn't look like a key," snapped Nami.

The ball started to crack and Mister 3 jumped out of it.

"Water!" he gasped, "It's truly a miracle!"

"Mister 3" shouted Vivi, "Why were you in a crocodiles stomach?!"

Mister 3 didn't answer her, he was too busy lapping up all the water he could.

"I've revived!" he shouted, then he stopped, "What's this?"

He reached down and picked up a key.

"It's the key!" shouted Luffy, "Give it here!"

"Ahh!" screamed Mister 3, "It's you guys!"

Then he got a calculating look in his eye.

He leaned back his arm and threw the key back into the aquarium.

"Good luck finding it!" he cackled.

"Bastard!" snarled Sanji.

"Wait a second, Sanji," called Usopp, "He can just make a key out of his wax, can't he?"

Sanji smiled.

"Good idea, Usopp," he grinned at Mister 3.

"Wait, what?" stuttered the agent.

Sanji planted a swift kick to Mister 3's head and the agent quickly became agreeable. He used his wax fruit powers to open the door and the rest of the crew was free.

"Nice piece of work, Candleman," said Sanji.

Hawke and Vivi climbed down the remains of the staircase. The rest had given Hawke enough time to stretch her legs and get feeling back into them.

"The tunnel they left through earlier," said Nami, pointing at the passage, "It must lead to Alubarna."

"But that way is still full of banana crocodiles!" exclaimed Vivi.

Hawke stepped forward.

"Please get out of the way," she spoke to the crocodiles, raising her hand,

The animals saw her and quietly retreated back into the aquarium.

"Well… that won't be a problem anymore," said Nami, her voice showing her amazement.

"Great!" shouted Luffy, "They listened to Hawke!"

"I would've liked to beat them up though," growled Zoro, but he was grinning at her.

Hawke stared at her captain, no, at her brother, and the swordsman as they started to head down the passage.

_They came,_ she thought, tears coming to her eyes and a feeling of immense relief washing over her.

Suddenly, there was an immense cracking sound.

"The walls!" shouted Usopp in terror.

Hawke gasped as the windows broke and the walls started collapsing. The pressure had finally gotten to great and the room was caving in on itself!

"You overdid it!" snapped Zoro to Sanji

The cook glared at the swordsman.

"What did you say, Marimo?"

The passage roof broke and water rushed in over the crew.

Hawke was bowled over by the wave and tumbled backwards until she hit something. _Ouch,_ she thought, turning to see what it was.

She had been swept into the door of the cage, the corner of it snagging on her dress.

Hawke peered through the water. She could see Nami, Usopp and Vivi being swept up in a current, sucking them out into the lake. Sanji had grabbed Luffy and was swimming in the same direction.

_Where's Zoro?_ she thought, frantically searching the submerged room for the swordsman.

Her eyes caught some movement at the bottom and she swam down.

Zoro was trying to pull Smoker out from under a piece of rubble, but the stone seemed to be weighing down on the marine and Zoro was struggling.

Hawke unfurled her wings and sped down, grabbing the rubble and pulling it back with all her might. She felt it give slightly and looked down.

Zoro had pulled Smoker out from under it and swam up from the bottom.

The swordsman gave her a smirk, which she returned with a wave and a blush.

She grabbed Smokers jacket and helped Zoro carry the marine out into the lake.

They reached the shore of the lake, and pulled Smoker out of the water.

Sanji had pulled Luffy out and Nami and Vivi were having a hard time dragging Usopp out by his nose. They were both unconscious.

"Oi, oi," said Sanji, coming over and helping Hawke out of the water, "What did you guys rescue the enemy?"

"Shut up!" snapped Zoro, "I didn't want to."

Hawke glanced at him.

"He would've died," she mumbled, "He's like Luffy, a hammer in the water…"

"Still," snapped Zoro, "This would've been the perfect chance to get rid of him."

Smoker started choking and gasping for air.

Hawke knelt down beside the marine. She knew he was their enemy, but they had all just gone through the same experience.

"Are you okay?" she asked, putting her hand on the marine's back.

"We've lost a big chunk of time here," Sanji was saying, "Vivi-chan, can we still make it?"

"I don't know," said Vivi, wringing out her robes.

Suddenly, Hawke was pushed to the ground as Smoker sprang up and lunged his weapon at Zoro.

"Roronoa!" he shouted.

Zoro brought up his sword and blocked the attack with the blade.

"Why did you save me?" demanded the marine.

Zoro stared at Smoker over his sword.

"I was just following the captain's orders," he said, lowering his sword, "Don't think you have to thank me or anything. It was just one of his whims. Forget about it."

"Zoro…," whispered Hawke.

Smoker stood there for a few moments.

"Then I assume you don't mind if I carry out my official duties," he said.

"Hear that," muttered Sanji, "That's what we get for rescuing a marine."

"Get away from him, Hawke," muttered Zoro, motioning for her to join him.

Hawke quickly went over to his side.

But Smoker stayed where he was.

Suddenly, Luffy and Usopp sprang to life.

"Alright!" shouted Usopp, "We're heading for Alubarna!"

"Where the hell is Crocodile!" yelled Luffy.

"Ah, they finally came too," muttered Nami.

Luffy turned and noticed Smoker.

"Oi, Smokey," he shouted, "You wanna fight?"

Smoker stared at the captain, dumbfounded.

"When is he actually serious?" he muttered.

Hawke tugged on Zoro's sleeve.

"The marines are coming," she said, pointing to the streets of the city.

Smoker and Luffy were still facing off. But then Smoker sighed and lowered his head.

"Go," he said, "But this is the last time I'll let you go. When we meet again, your life is over."

The crew stared at him for a moment.

Then the cries of the marines could be heard.

"There they are!"

"Don't let them escape!"

Hawke smiled, looking up at Zoro.

He looked down at her and laughed.

He laughed a real laugh, with a real smile. Hawke hadn't seen him smile like this since she joined the crew. Her heart soared at the sight of that smile.

"Let's get going," said Sanji, "The marines are on their way. Which way is Alubarna?"

"This way," pointed Vivi, "Straight to the east."

The crew took off.

Hawke hesitated.

Zoro called to Luffy.

"Oi, Luffy, hurry up! What are you doing?"

"Right," said Luffy, then he looked back to Smoker, a smile spread from ear to ear, "Y'know, I don't hate you."

Smoker looked taken aback, then his face flushed.

"Get out of here now!" he shouted, swinging his weapon at Luffy.

"Woah!" shouted Luffy and high-tailed it after the crew.

As he ran passed them, Hawke and Zoro exchanged grins before sprinting after him.

Hawke felt happiness well up inside her. She was back with her crew. They had come to get her. She was back with her family. She glanced to her side, where Zoro was running alongside her.

_This moment is perfect,_ she thought.

"Guys!" shouted Luffy from the front, "We're heading straight to Alubarna!"

"Aye!" returned the crew as they sped towards the horizon.


	25. Chapter 25: Alubarna

The crew tore through the streets of Rainbase.

"Don' tell me we're going to run all the way to Alubarna!" panted Usopp.

Hawke looked around.

"Where did Chopper go?" she shouted up to the others.

"And Eyelash!" panted Nami, "Where did Eyelash go?"

"Who's Eyelash?" asked Hawke.

"Whatever," shouted Luffy over his shoulder, "There are stables in this town right? Let's get horses!"

"But the marines are all over the city," panted Vivi.

"Set your minds at ease," said Sanji, "Look ahead."

They were nearing the edge of the town, ahead of them stretched the desert. There was a huge cloud of whirling dust and sand traveling very quickly in their direction.

"What is that?!" exclaimed Hawke.

The movement stopped in front of them and the sand settled.

"Hey guys!" shouted a small form from above them.

"Chopper!" gasped Hawke.

"A crab?!" shouted Usopp, his eyes popping out of his head.

The crew gawked at the scene before them.

Chopper and a camel were riding atop a giant crab!

"That's a Moving Crab!" exclaimed Vivi.

"It looks tasty!" shouted Luffy.

"Let's ride!" Chopper shouted down at the crew.

"We can ride it?!" exclaimed Luffy, "Cool! Cool! Cool! Awesome! Cool!"

The captain catapulted himself up onto the crabs eye stalk.

"Nice to meet ya!" he laughed.

The crab lowered its claw.

"You've brought something amazing back again," Sanji said up to Chopper as he and Nami climbed aboard.

Zoro, Hawke, Vivi and Usopp clambered onto the other claw and were raised up onto the crabs back.

"He's a friend of Eyelashes," said Chopper, "Eyelash was born in this town, so he has lots of friends all over the place."

He gestured over at the camel.

"But they're all perverts…," he added embarrassingly.

"Oh so this is Eyelash," laughed Hawke and she went over and began petting the camel on the nose.

Eyelash let out snorts and grunts of pleasure.

"Moving Crabs usually stay underground so long that they're known as phantom crabs," Vivi exclaimed, "But it seems we have one right here."

"It moves pretty fast then?" asked Zoro, taking a seat.

"Guys, hold on tight," said Chopper as he raised the reins in his hooves, "Let's go!"

There was a sudden jolt and the crab sped off, moving along sideways.

"Oof!" grunted Hawke as she lost her footing and fell onto her knees, "What a lively start."

They'd only been travelling for seconds, when Vivi let out a sudden scream. The crew turned around to see her being dragged off the crab by a golden hook.

"Crocodile!" cried Hawke.

"Stop! Chopper!" shouted Zoro.

Chopper yanked on the reins and the crab skidded to a halt.

"It's him!" shouted Luffy, "You damned…!"

Luffy jumped up and pulled Vivi out of the hook, putting himself in her place and throwing the princess back onto the crab.

"Oi, Luffy!" called Zoro.

They watched as two figures appeared on the horizon. Luffy was quickly being dragged back towards them.

"You guys go on ahead!" they heard the captain yell, "I'll be fine by myself!"

"Luffy!" screamed Hawke.

The crew stood frozen in hesitation.

Luffy landed on the sand with a thud.

"Make sure you get her there safe!" he shouted, "Get Vivi back home! Make sure!"

Hawke could see his smile even from that distance.

Still, nobody made a move.

"Make sure, okay?" Luffy said again.

"That… idiot," muttered Zoro.

Hawke saw him stiffen.

"Oi!" he shouted, "Let's go, Chopper!"

He turned to the reindeer.

"From here… straight to Alubarna!"

Chopper bit his lip and turned.

"Right, got it," he said, raising the reins, "Let's go!"

The crab jerked into movement again.

Hawke watched the three figures on the sand start to fade away.

"No…" she gasped quietly.

"Oi, Zoro!" shouted Usopp in a panic, "You're just gunna leave him?! Isn't that a bit cruel?! You'd better protect me from now on!?"

"Luffy-san!" shouted Vivi, straining against Nami's arms.

"It's okay, Vivi," said the navigator through clenched teeth, "He'll be fine. I'm more worried about them! Once Luffy chooses his opponent… they never get away without a beating."

Zoro stood up.

"Listen, Vivi," he said, "He'll keep Crocodile busy. The instant the Rebel Army moved to attack, the time limit on this country was decided. If the Rebel Army and the Royal Army collide, this country is done for. And if you are the only hope for stopping them… then you must live no matter what!"

Zoro gripped his swords.

"From now on, anything that happens to us is of no importance!" he snapped.

"But…" Vivi stuttered.

"Vivi-chan," said Sanji, "You set up this fight. You left your country years ago, and challenged an organization you knew nothing about. However," he turned, "You can't tell yourself you're fighting alone anymore."

Vivi's eyes widened.

She stood and took a deep breath.

"Luffy-san!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, "We shall await you in Alubarna!"

"Okay!" they heard their captain's voice come back over the sand.

And then, he was gone.

Hawke stared out at the now empty desert, still resting on her knees.

"No…Luffy," she whispered.

She had just gotten her captain back and now he had been taken from her again. She felt tears welling up in her eyes.

Zoro noticed.

"He'll be fine," he said, coming to sit beside Hawke, "We have to trust in our captain."

Hawke wiped her eyes and nodded, looking back to where Luffy had disappeared.

"But I just found you all again," she sighed, her voice still trembling.

"And we're very glad to have you back," said Usopp, turning his own gaze from the horizon.

Hawke sighed happily, despite her overwhelming worry.

"I'm so glad to see you again," she smiled at her friends, "I wasn't sure how much longer I could stay in Crocodile's clutches."

Zoro's face darkened.

"By the way," he said, "What was he doing to you?"

Hawke lowered her eyes.

"I don't remember how I got under his cloak…" she shivered, "I don't really want to think about it."

She rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

"I feel disgusting," she muttered.

The crew exchanged concerned glances.

"Were you okay, though, Hawke?" asked Nami, "He didn't torture you did he?"

Hawke shook her head.

"Other than these," she motioned to the welts on her chest and legs, "I wasn't hurt. Although he wasn't that reliable with my meals, now that I think about it."

"This is an outrage!" shouted Sanji, his face full of wrath, "Don't you worry, Hawke-san, I shall make sure you never go hungry again!"

"I thought you were looking thinner than usual," Nami looked at her with concern.

Hawke smiled.

"I'm fine," she said, "I'm not hungry at the moment. But thank you, Sanji, I'll be looking forward to your cooking."

Sanji gave her a swoon and a smile, but then his face became dark again.

"Oi, Hawke-san," he said, fingering his ciragette and casting an almost unnoticeable glance in Zoro's direction, "Did I hear you correctly when we were in the casino?"

"Huh?" asked Hawke, "When?"

"Did Crocodile drug you?" asked Sanji.

Zoro stiffened.

"What?!" he snapped, whirling to face Hawke.

"Well…," Hawke stuttered, "He did at least once. He didn't want me to hear him tell his top agents his whole plan so he injected something into my arm and I passed out."

"He drugged you?!" exclaimed Usopp.

"What?" Nami gasped, "Are you feeling okay, Hawke?"

Hawke raised her hands defensively in front of her.

"Yes," she reassured them, "I'm fine now. And I assumed that he'd drugged me again, because when I woke up-" she shuddered, "-there, I felt the same as when I had woken up then, only a bit worse. I couldn't control my body."

"That sounds awful," Nami sympathized.

"Yes, it is awful," said Sanji soberly, "But I have one more question Hawke-san."

"What is it, Sanji?" replied Hawke.

"Your dress is so becoming on you and I my soul trembles when I see you in it," he began, "But something very disturbing is weighing on my mind."

"Huh, yeah," said Usoppp suddenly, "You weren't wearing that when we last saw you."

Hawke looked down and blushed. She had almost forgotten what she was wearing. _And my clothes are probably at the bottom of that lake_, she thought, _...my jacket_.

"Well he was keeping me in the same cage that you guys were in," she said, "But he let me out and made me dance for him and some other Baroques Works member."

She motioned to her clothes.

"That's why I'm wearing this."

Zoro's hand clenched around his swords.

"I'm going to kill that creep!" he shouted and sprang up, making a dive off the crab.

It was all Usopp and Nami could do to keep him from jumping off.

"Please don't leave," Hawke let out a panicked little squeak.

Zoro froze, but he was still breathing very heavily.

"I want us all to stay together," she finished, blushing furiously and lowering her face.

_That came out faster than I meant it too,_ she thought.

Zoro quieted and gruffly shook off Usopps hand. He returned to his spot beside Hawke.

Suddenly, there was a huge roar from the way they had come.

Looking back, the crew saw a sand storm had sprung up near Rainbase.

"It's him," muttered Vivi.

"Luffy…," whispered Hawke, closing her eyes, "I know you'll be okay."

She wanted to run to her brother's side so much, but they needed to get Vivi to where she needed to go. _And where was that?_ Hawke thought, realising that she had no idea what was going on.

"Oh, Zoro," said Hawke, "Where did you say we were going?"

"To Alubarna," replied the swordsman.

"Where's that?" asked Hawke.

"It's the capital city of Alabasta," put in Vivi, "That's where the royal palace is," she lowered her face and turned towards the horizon, "And that's where the rebel army is going to attack tomorrow morning."

"What?!" exclaimed Hawke, "What's happened since I last saw you guys?"

"A lot," muttered Usopp, "I almost died from the heat four times."

Nami rolled her eyes at him.

"We knew we would end up at Crocodile anyways," she started, "And since he was Mister 0, we figured that's where they would take you."

Hawke nodded.

"I came to the same conclusion," she said.

"Good," smiled Nami, "Well we went to the city that was supposed to be the rebel base, but it was already abandoned."

"There was only on old man who knew Vivi," said Chopper.

"Yes," continued Nami, "And he told us that the rebels were already moving to launch their attack."

Zoro adjusted his sitting position.

"So we changed our plans and decided to come here first because it was where Crocodile had his base," he said.

"So now that we have you back again," said Vivi, still looking at the horizon, "And we know a bit more of Crocodiles plan, we need to get to Alubarna as fast as we can so we can get there before the rebels do and hopefully stop this war."

Hawke nodded.

"Oh my," she said, "You've all been working really hard to help Vivi. And all I've been doing is sitting in a cage."

Her shoulders drooped.

"It wasn't your fault, Hawke-san," said Sanji, "Don't blame yourself."

"Yeah," said Usopp, "And what did Crocodile mean when he said you were so important?"

Hawke stiffened. She had been hoping that they wouldn't remember that part.

"Well," she mumbled, "I'm not sure if I'd believe what he said."

"Well what did he mean?" asked Zoro, leaning in.

Hawke looked at him, then at the rest of the crew. She wasn't even sure if the prophecy was real, and it would only add stress to the crew. They had to keep focused in order to help Vivi.

"I really don't know," she said, lowering her eyes, "He probably just wanted to make Luffy as upset as he could."

"Hmph," grunted Zoro and he leaned back again.

Hawke took out her wings and stretched them.

"It's been a long time since I've flown," she smiled, "I think I might've strained them to hard back there."

"So you can do that!" said Vivi, gaping at Hawkes wings, "I wasn't sure if I'd been seeing you right back when we were caught up in the water…"

"Oh right," laughed Usopp, "We didn't tell you about Hawke's special ability did we?"

"So you have devil fruit powers too then?" asked Vivi, coming over and feeling Hawkes feathers.

Hawke shook her head.

"No, these are a part of my body," she said as she stretched her wings again and turned to show Vivi her back.

Vivi's eyes widened and she seemed to be thinking hard for a moment.

"What's wrong?" asked Hawke.

Vivi was staring at her.

"I just think I've seen a statue of you in the palace," she said.

"What?" asked Zoro, "A statue of Hawke?"

"Well not exactly of her," corrected Vivi, "It's a statue of a person in robes and a hood."

"How does that remind you of Hawke?" asked Usopp dubiously.

"It doesn't have a name," said Vivi, "No one knows where it came from or if it's a man or a woman. But it has black wings coming out of its back just like Hawke."

The crew stared back at her.

"The records only say that it appeared in the treasury about eight hundred years ago and no one knows who put it there," continued Vivi, "There is a plaque on the sculpture, and all it says is "Dark Angel"."

Hawke blinked. Those words kept popping up all of a sudden. Could it be more than coincidence?

"Dark Angel?" repeated Usopp, "What does that mean?"

Vivi shrugged.

"I just thought of it when I saw Hawkes wings," she said, "Wasn't Crocodile calling you Angel?"

Hawke nodded.

"Yes," she admitted, "The billions who captured me gave me the nickname because I wouldn't tell them my real one."

"Well it doesn't make any sense to me," said Nami, "We should just focus on getting to Alubarna for now."

"You're right," agreed Vivi, and she returned her gaze to the horizon.

But Hawke's mind was full of uncertain thoughts as they were transported through the desert.

Was this prophecy real? And if it was, was she this Dark Angel? And why was this happening all of a sudden?

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

The sun was almost set.

They traveled in silence for a while.

Zoro was busying himself by lifting Eyelash on his sword.

Hawke was watching him out of the corner of her eye. She could tell that he was worried about Luffy and was trying to work off his energy.

Usopp was telling Chopper some tall tales about crabs and shrimp and how it was he that had made them walk sideways.

"Zoro," Nami said, "Aren't you just wasting your strength?"

"Shut up," growled the swordsman.

"Leave him be, Nami-san," said Sanji from the front of the crab, "If he doesn't work off his strength, he'll be beside himself with tension. He gets worked up easily."

Hawke let a small smile creep onto her lips. Sanji was bang on.

"And besides," the cook continued, drawing on his cigarette, "He's just gotten a full blown taste of the level of a Warlord."

Zoro tensed.

"Hey, jackass," he grunted, "What are you trying to say? Come out and say it."

Sanji rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I'll tell you," he waved his arm, "You're afraid. Afraid that Luffy might lose."

"Me?!" shouted Zoro, "Afraid?! You… you pretty eyebrows!"

"Oh, now I'm pissed," snapped Sanji, "You're a Marimo head!"

"What?!" retorted Zoro.

The two men sprang up and butted heads.

"You wanna fight asshole?" they both taunted in unison.

Just then, Nami knocked them both down with her fists of iron.

"Cut it out," she snapped, "This is pointless."

Vivi sprang up.

"He's fine!" she said nervously, "Everyone! Luffy-san won't lose! We made a promise right? We said we'd meet in Alubarna!"

"You're the one worrying the most!" exclaimed Usopp.

Nami went over and tapped Vivi on the head.

"You just worry about the rebellion," she said sternly.

"My apologies, Vivi-chan," said Sanji, sitting up.

"If we had to follow you, we'd be totally lost," sighed Zoro, going back to lifting Eyelash.

"Zoro," Hawke gave him a stern look, "Don't be so mean."

The swordsman grunted. Hawke caught the corner of his lip twitch as he turned away.

_Is he mad at me?_ she thought, _or was that a smile? _She couldn't tell.

"Alright!" said Nami, "Let's go to Alubarna! Forward Scissors!"

"Huh?" asked Usopp, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's the crab's name," replied Nami.

"Scissors?!" exclaimed Usopp.

"Got a problem with that?!" Nami turned on him.

"None at all," stuttered Usopp, turning his attention to his shoe.

Hawke smiled as she watched the familiar clashes among her crew members.

_This is definitely where I feel like I'm home,_ she thought.

Just as the sun sank below the horizon, a ribbon of blue appeared in the sand ahead of them.

"A river!" exclaimed Hawke, standing and walking to the edge of the crab's shell.

"We need to find a way to cross it immediately," said Vivi, "This crab won't be able to."

"The crab can't cross the river?!" shouted Usopp.

"Moving crabs are desert creatures," Vivi explained, "They can't stand the water."

"But it's a crab! A crab!" exclaimed Usopp again, "We're in trouble."

He took out a map and laid it on the shell.

"This river is practically an ocean," he continued, "If we have to cross it, we'll never make it in time! And even if we cross the river, there are still tens of kilometers of desert to cross! If this crab doesn't make it across the river, are we going to run the rest of the way?"

"I guess we'll have to," said Nami, staring at the map.

"We'll never make it!" shouted Usopp, "There's just no way!"

"There's the Sandora River!" said Sanji, pointing ahead.

They were much closer to the water.

"Please do something, Scissors-kun," pleaded Nami in a girly voice.

"That's it!" exclaimed Chopper, "Scissors likes dancing girls!"

Nami immediately dropped her cloak, revealing her dancers outfit underneath.

"Like this?" the she said.

"Probably," replied Chopper.

Hawke looked down at her own outfit and blushed, covering herself with her hands. She wasn't as bold as Nami was.

Just then, she felt something being draped over her shoulders.

She looked up.

"Zoro!" she said, seeing the swordsman.

"Just put this on," he snapped, pulling the hood of a cloak up over her head.

Hawke stared at him, then she smiled.

"Thanks, Zoro!" she said warmly.

"Yeah, as long as that stupid cook doesn't drool on you," he grumbled.

Hawke turned her attention back to Nami.

"I think he's pretty distracted," she laughed.

"Oh my!" swooned Sanji, fawning over Nami's outfit.

Eyelash was giving her goo-goo eyes too.

"Sheesh," muttered Hawke, crossing her arms, "Men!"

"He's looking this way!" said Chopper excitedly, pointing at Scissors' eye stalks.

The crab immediately quadrupled his speed.

"He's accelerating!" said Chopper happily.

"Nami-swaaannn!" shouted Sanji.

"You managed to break two animals with your dumb routine," scoffed Zoro.

"Yosh!" said Nami, completely ignoring the insult, "Ero-Power!"

"And how does this solve our problem?" muttered Usopp, "Chopper?!"

The crew watched as the river quickly approached. Soon they were right on the beach.

"Go!" shouted Chopper.

The crab sped down the dune and out onto the water.

For the first few seconds it actually seemed to work. The crab had picked up enough speed that it skimmed over the water.

"Th-this is really something," noted Zoro.

"This is great!" shouted Usopp, "This is a miracle! Just stay on the water's surface the whole way! Run! Run the whole way!"

But then the crab quickly began sinking, leaving the crew floating in the middle of the river.

"Don't sink you stupid crab!" shouted Usopp as he surfaced.

"We don't have time to sit around screaming," muttered Zoro, putting Chopper on his head, "Keep moving."

"Aren't there any ships?" complained Usopp, "About how far is it to the other shore?"

"About fifty kilometres," said Vivi, staring ahead.

"We can't swim that far!" shouted Usopp.

Hawke surfaced and looked back at the shore.

"Thanks!" she shouted, waving at Scissors, who had gotten out onto the beach.

"Thank you!" called Chopper, turning on Zoro's head to wave.

"This is no time to be cheerful," muttered Usopp.

Hawke giggled.

"You look good like that, Zoro," she laughed.

"What?!" growled the swordsman, "What are you talking about?!"

Hawke smiled and kept swimming.

Just then, the water in front of them exploded and a giant catfish emerged from the river.

"What now?!" cried Usopp.

"A Giant Sandora Catfish!" screamed Vivi, "Its favourite food is people!"

"What?!" the crew shouted.

Everyone started swimming for their lives as the catfish lunged at them.

As Hawke swam, she felt a movement below her.

"What's this?" she muttered.

Just then, the catfish stopped chasing them and began to shake.

"What's going on?" snapped Zoro, "I can't see!"

Chopper was clinging to his face.

"Chopper, let go!" Zoro shouted.

The catfish was suddenly thrown into the air. A number of smaller shapes were surrounding it as it fell.

"What are those?!" exclaimed Hawke, looking at the strange looking manatee turtles.

"Kung-fu dugongs!" whimpered Usopp.

One of them came forward and began making noises.

"He said "We cannot abandon Master's disciples!"," said Chopper.

"What?" Hawke was confused.

"We'll explain later, just get on," said Nami.

The crew climbed onto the catfishes back and the dugongs pulled them across the river.

They made it to the other side of the river and clambered up onto the bank.

The dugongs said farewell and returned to the water.

"Thank you! Bye-Bye!" Chopper shouted after them.

"So what were those things?" Hawke asked Nami.

"Oh, they're Kung-fu Dugongs," she explained, "We ran into them earlier and Luffy beat them up."

"Why'd he beat up those sweet things?!" gasped Hawke.

"Well once you beat them, they're sworn to be your disciple," said Vivi, "So they are all loyal to Luffy and they helped us out since they think we're his disciples too."

"Oh," said Hawke bluntly, "Well as long as we made it across quickly enough. Can we still make it in time?"

"It's hard to say," said Vivi nervously, "Even riding Eyelash we might not be fast enough."

"And he can only take two people," said Usopp, "And if Baroque Works is going to attack us, it'll be closer to the city. Is there any way we can all get there together?"

The group was silent.

"Shit, there isn't _anything_?" asked Usopp.

"I could fly," said Hawke, "But I can only carry one person."

"Damn, that's not enough," muttered Usopp.

Just then, Nami pointed into the desert.

"Look! Over there!" she cried.

There was a large cloud of dust approaching them.

"What is it?" asked Usopp, running over, "The enemy? They're onto us already!?"

"No, it's…" Vivi began.

The figures in the cloud became clearer.

"Carue!" the princess shouted, "And the Super Spot-Billed Duck Squad!"

A group of ducks came running up to the pirates.

"You've come to help us!" cried Vivi.

The ducks saluted her.

"Carue!" she cried and hugged the duck around his neck.

There were more than enough ducks for everyone.

The crew each took a duck and Vivi stayed on Eyelash since he was more comfortable.

As Hawke got onto her duck, her cloak snagged on her stirrup, and she fell back onto the sand.

"Are you alright, Hawke-san?" asked Vivi.

"Yes I'm alright," replied Hawke as she stood, "I just got caught in my cloak."

"Huh?" Sanji looked over, "Where did your lovely dress go, Hawke-san? When'd you get a cloak?"

"Zoro gave this to me," Hawke smiled, "I was a bit chilly in only a dress anyways."

Hawke mounted her duck successfully on her second try.

Hawke draped the cloak around her and pulled up the hood.

Usopp glanced over at her.

"That gives me an idea," he said and waved the rest of the crew over to him.

After the plan was explained, the crew readied to leave.

"But what if that Mr. 2 comes after us," Hawke asked suddenly, "If he's as good as you say he is. Since we'll be separated, how will we be able to tell who's the real one?"

"Oh, that's right," said Usopp, "You weren't there when Zoro thought up our double marks."

"Double marks?" asked Hawke.

Zoro got off his duck and came over to her, ripping off a piece of his cloak and taking out a marker from his waistband.

"Here, hold out your arm," he instructed.

Hawke did as she was told.

Zoro drew an X on her arm with the marker, then wrapped the symbol with the cloth.

"Now, if you have any doubts about our identity, just tell us to prove ourselves," said the swordsman, "If we can't show you the mark under the cloth, then it isn't us."

Hawke looked at the fabric tied to her arm.

"That's a really good plan, Zoro," she said.

The swordsman grunted and returned to his duck.

"It's a mark of our friendship!" said Usopp proudly, raising his hand in the air.

The rest of the crew followed suit.

"Alright," said Nami, "Let's put our plan into action!"

"Yeah!" they cried and set off into the desert.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

The crew sped towards Alubarna.

The Duck Squad was the fastest way to travel in Alabasta and they were making good time.

As they came into view of the city, the top agents of the Baroques Works Angency could be seen sitting at the gates waiting for them.

Their orders were to eliminate Vivi. But they couldn't tell which of the six approaching figures the princess was! They were all wearing the same cloaks!

Mr. 4 shot at the approaching Duck Squad and they scattered.

Two ducks ran off to the south. Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas went after them.

Two more ducks went off to the west. Mr.1 and his partner Miss Double Finger followed them.

And two more ran straight, running over Mr. 2 and Miss Easter.

"Well, we'll be heading to the south-west gate!" a girl's voice said.

The agents were quick to pursue them.

As the dust cleared from in front of the city, one more duck and a camel emerged from behind a rock and set off towards the no-man's land between the city and the approaching Rebel Army.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Hawke and Usopp approached the south-west gate.

"Are you okay, Hawke?" asked Usopp, looking over at her.

"I'm fine," Hawke smiled, "But how are you doing?"

The sniper was shaking so hard in his saddle that Hawke thought he might fall off.

"Come on, Usopp!" exclaimed Hawke, "We have to be convincing. Vivi's depending on us!"

"Right," replied Usopp, trying to stop his knees form shaking.

They approached the gate and raced up the steps.

There were some guards at the entrance, but they seemed to recognise the ducks and let them through.

"We don't have time to stop," said Hawke and they sped into the city.

Hawke looked behind them. Mr. 2 and Miss Easter were still giving chase.

They sped through the city, winding in and out of alleys, finally stopping and waiting for their pursuers to catch up.

"I am not letting you get awaaay!" shouted Mr. 2, rounding the corner.

"I'm so glad you decided to follow me," said Usopp, in a high pitched, feminine voice.

"I'm the princess," said Hawke, doing her best Vivi impression.

_He's good at that,_ Hawke smiled to herself, glancing over at Usopp.

The two agents stopped and exchanged confused looks.

"What?" snapped Mr. 2.

The scout and the sniper lowered their hoods.

"To bad! You lose!" they laughed at their pursuers.


	26. Chapter 26: Hawke vs Miss Easter

Hawke and Usopp stood facing their enemies.

"Well isn't this annoying," spat Miss Easter, tossing her head.

Her purple hair was pulled back in two pony tails and she was wearing a skin tight pink unitard.

Mr. 2 was glaring at them, his two swan-shaped epaulettes quivering.

"I'll show you what happens to those who make a fool out of Baroque Works," he snarled.

"I'll take the pathetic dancer," laughed Miss Easter, pointing at Hawke.

The scout swallowed.

"Fine by me," said Mr. 2, "I'll show you my kenpo!"

He lunged at Usopp.

"Watch out!" Hawke shouted.

But the sniper couldn't dodge in time. Mr. 2's kick landed square in his chest and he crumbled immediately.

"Usopp!" Hawke cried as she watched her friend hit the ground.

"Ha! This is laughable," cackled Miss Easter, "But you shouldn't take your eyes off your opponent."

Hawke whirled around and was met with Miss Easter's foot shooting towards her. She bent back as far in her saddle as she could, and Miss Easter shot over her, barley brushing Hawke's nose with her legs.

The agent landed and spun around.

"Oh, so you're not as weak as that poor excuse for a man," she laughed, "Well then, come and play with me, little dancer. I'm going to wipe you all over this pathetic city."

She spun around again and ran off down the street.

"Wh-wait!" shouted Hawke.

She jumped off her duck.

Usopp was struggling to get up and Mr. 2 had backed off.

"Go get Sanji, Usopp needs help!" she told the duck, remembering that Sanji and Chopper were the closest.

Hawke ran over and helped her friend to his feet.

"Come on, Usopp," she said, "You can take this guy. Hit him with your firebird stars or something!"

"Right," gasped Usopp, fumbling with his slingshot.

He shakily loaded it and aimed at Mr. 2.

"Are you ready to be taken down?" Usopp threatened.

"Oh, I'm so scared," the okama feigned a swoon.

"Go to hell!" shouted Usopp.

Hawke jumped back as the sniper let loose his shot.

The bead exploded in flames as soon as it was released and hit the agent square in the face.

"Nice come back, Usopp!" shouted Hawke, "I'm going after Miss Easter. Hang in there!"

She spun around and ran back down the street.

As she tore through Alubarna, Hawke kept scanning the alleyways as she passed them. But there was no sign of the Baroque Works agent.

"Where did you go?" she muttered, running past an abandoned café.

Hawke rounded a corner and stopped short. She heard a noise coming from an alley way off to her right.

"Stop moving you little birdie," taunted a woman's voice.

_That must be her_, thought Hawke.

Hawke skidded to a stop and peered into the alley.

Miss Easter was facing away from her, towards the wall of a building.

The wall had large chunks of rock embedded in it and there was a small black bird standing on one of them. One of its wings was sticking out at an odd angle and it was hopping nervously from foot to foot.

Miss Easter held up her hand and aimed it at the bird.

"Now don't you move this time," she muttered.

As Hawke watched, a large boulder seemed to come out of Miss Easter's hand and flew at the bird.

With a frantic chirp, the little creature tried to fly away. But it only managed to fall off the rock it was standing on and hit the ground.

The boulder slammed into the wall and stuck there.

Hawke's eyes flashed and she snuck into the alley.

"Stupid animal!" retorted Miss Easter, "If you'd just done what I told you, you wouldn't be hopping around like a pitiful little bug. You'd be dead! And why is that girl taking so long?!"

"Leave him alone!" shouted Hawke as she dove in front of Miss Easter, shielding the little bird.

Miss Easter was taken by surprise and took a step back, hesitating.

Hawke used this time to scoop up the bird and hide him in her robes.

"How dare you torture an innocent animal for your own amusement?" Hawke seethed.

Miss Easter laughed.

"Well, well, well," she cackled, "I've been waiting for you. If you'd have been faster, I wouldn't have had to kill my boredom by testing my aim on that bird."

She held up her hand and produced another rock out of her palm.

"So you can make rocks?" asked Hawke, taking two knives out of her robes, "That's not very impressive."

Miss Easter glared at her.

"I ate the Mountain-Mountain Fruit," she declared, throwing the rock up and catching it in her hand, "And you will feel my power very soon."

Hawke brandished her knives.

"A person who harms innocent creatures is no more worthy of power than the dirt under my feet," Hawke said in a low voice.

"Big talk from a common whore!" shouted Miss Easter.

She drew back her hands and threw the rock at Hawke.

Hawke dodged and sliced through it with one of her knives as it flew by.

"What did you call me?" shouted the scout.

Miss Easter was still glaring at her.

"You are nothing but a lowly dancer," she said, her voice was scathing, "You charmed him with your stupid show and now he doesn't even notice me!"

"Who?" retorted Hawke, "Crocodile?!"

"How dare you speak his name!" cried Miss Easter and she launched her attack.

She raised her right hand and shot many small rock darts at Hawke. And with her left, she created a boulder larger than Hawke's head and threw it.

Hawke tried to dodge the darts. She turned and bent herself down, hoping they would fly over her.

But two of the darts hit her back, skimming along it and tearing holes in her robes.

The boulder hit her shoulder and knocked her down.

Miss Easter sprang on her and tore at her hood, picking Hawke up by her hair.

"I never want to hear his name from your filthy lips again!" she whispered threateningly into Hawke's ear.

Hawke gasped for air. Her head was spinning. She jabbed out with her knife and felt it make contact.

Miss Easter let her go and started shrieking.

Hawke jumped up and steadied herself. She looked over at the agent.

The woman was bent double, clutching her face.

"What have you done!" she screeched and launched herself at Hawke, clawing at the air.

Hawke gasped when she saw Miss Easter's face.

Her knife had indeed struck its target.

There was a large oozing gash down the left side of her enemies face. Starting from above her eyebrow and ending at the bottom of her cheek.

"Now you can match your pretend lover," Hawke sneered, backing away.

Hawke threw a knife at Miss Easter, hitting her in her side.

The woman let out another screech as she yanked at the blade that was embedded between her ribs.

"No!" she shouted, "You can't hurt me! I am a mountain!"

"Ever heard of sea prism stone," mumbled Hawke.

She retreated and used the boulders stuck in the wall to climb up to the roof.

_I need to get to the clock tower,_ she thought.

"Come back here!" Miss Easter shouted after her.

Hawke looked over her shoulder and saw Miss Easter was eye level with her.

"What?" she gasped.

The agent had made rock columns grow out of her feet. She was standing in front of Hawke on huge rock stilts.

"You're not getting away from me!" shouted Miss Easter, "I will make you pay!"

She raised both her hands and made it rain rock darts on Hawke.

But the scout was better prepared this time. She spun herself, holding her knives out. The darts were either deflected or cut and she wasn't scratched.

When the barrage stopped, Hawke stopped her spin and immediately ran towards Miss Easter.

She jumped off the building and slashed at Miss Easter's legs. This made the woman tilt back. Hawke landed on one of the stilts and jumped off again, using her legs to push as hard as she could.

Miss Easter toppled backwards with a shriek.

_She sure is loud, _thought Hawke as she landed back on the roof.

But Miss Easter wasn't going to go down that easy.

She jumped off her stilts, letting them fall to the ground, and sprouted new ones to keep her balance.

As she did this, she created boulders in both of her hands.

Hawke was running back across the roof. She saw the shadows of the rocks as they fell towards her.

Turning around quickly, she drew her sword and sliced through both of them before sheathing it, turning around continuing to run.

Miss Easter used her stilts to run up right behind Hawke. She created two large boulders with spikes of rock protruding from them and dropped them down on the fleeing scout.

"Take this, little girl," she snarled and created two more boulders in the same way.

Hawke looked up and gasped.

She lurched out of the way of the falling rocks. The first two missed her by a hair. But she wasn't so lucky the second time.

The spikes on the falling boulder snagged Hawke's cloak and yanked her to the ground.

She tried to get up, but she was pinned down.

Miss Easter cackled as she jumped off her stilts and onto the roof.

"Did you actually think you could defeat me?" she sneered, "I am so much better than you!"

Hawke struggled to pull her robes free.

"What did he see in you?" scoffed her tormentor, "You're pathetic. If I bring back your body and tell him how little of a fight you gave, he'll forget about you in an instant."

"What makes you think he'll give you any more attention than he did before?" asked Hawke, trying to buy herself some time.

"Because he'll see that I'm stronger than his little pet here," she sneered, "I'll be worthy of him."

Hawke looked up at her. The scar on her face made her smile look more like a grimace.

"Are you sure he'll see you the same way?" she asked, bringing her finger up and tracing it down her cheek.

Miss Easter stared at her, then raised her own hand to her face. She touched her wound and immediately snatched her hand back.

"You worthless piece of trash!" shrieked Miss Easter.

She drew back her hand and solidified it into rock. Hawke saw what was coming and tried to dodge, but her cloak stopped her.

Miss Easter slapped Hawke across the face with her rock hand.

Hawke cried out in pain. She felt her jaw crack and saw spots dancing in front of her eyes.

"You monster!" shouted Miss Easter, "You've turned my beautiful looks into the ugliest face in the world!"

She hit Hawke again.

Hawke whimpered and reached for her knives.

"Oh no you don't!" yelled Miss Easter, "You can't prick me with your little butter knives anymore!"

She kicked Hawke's hand, causing her to let go of her knives. They flew across the roof and fell off the other side.

"No!" cried Hawke, wincing at the pain that this cause her.

Miss Easter laughed.

"It's all over for you now," she sneered and raised her hand over Hawke's head.

Hawke watched as a boulder started to take shape in Miss Easter's outstretched palm. She tried to pull herself free, but it was no use.

She closed her eyes and waited helplessly for the rock to fall.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Going back in time a bit, we return to when Hawke had picked up the bird.

The small black bird she had rescued was a Desert Whiskey Jack, a species found only in the Alabasta Kingdom.

It is an elusive creature and builds its nests in the hollowed out bricks of abandoned buildings.

This little male had been searching for twigs to bring back to his mate when Miss Easter had attacked him. She had hit his wing with a small pebble and sprained it, making it impossible for him to fly away from her.

However, it was only a pulled muscle.

When Hawke had scooped him up, he had taken refuge inside a pocket of her robes. Her cloak was bulky enough that her rapid movements were cushioned and he hadn't been jerked around. He had had enough time to rest and stretch his wing.

As Hawke had climbed up the building towards the roof, the bird had flitted out of her cloak and flown away.

But he had not abandoned the girl.

This little whiskey jack knew who he had just met. He also knew that she was in trouble.

He knew he must help his Princess in any way he could. And he had a plan.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Hawke waited for the blow to fall.

She waited.

Then she waited some more.

Frowning, she opened her eyes.

The sight that greeted her eyes made her gasp.

Miss Easter was gone.

Her two stilts of rock were all that remained, hovering over Hawke.

Hawke looked up to the sky. She let out a second gasp.

Miss Easter was flying through the air!

"What's going on?!" gasped Hawke.

There was a layer of black outlining Miss Easters figure.

Hawke squinted. The outline was moving!

"Birds?!" exclaimed Hawke, "Whiskey jacks?!"

There were hundreds of whiskey jacks clutching at Miss Easter's unitard, hair and skin. They had picked her up and were flying high up into the sky with her.

"Where did they come from?" Hawke whispered.

She moved to get up and realised that her robes were free.

Turning around, Hawke saw that the spiked boulder that was pinning her down had been rolled back. There were birds on every spike, flapping as hard as they could, pulling it off her.

"Oh my," said Hawke, staring, "Thank you all so much!"

"It's our pleasure, Princess," said a small flock as they flew past, dropping her fallen knives at her feet.

Hawke picked up her weapons.

A sudden shriek drew her attention upwards again.

"Get off me you damn birds!" Miss Easter yelled, flailing her arms around, trying to brush off the birds.

She had turned her entire body to stone, making her too heavy for the birds to hold up.

The woman started falling towards the ground.

Hawke had a sudden idea.

She brought out all her knives and started throwing them at Miss Easter as she fell.

The blades bounced off Miss Easter's solid rock body, Hawke made sure that the parts containing the sea prism stone didn't hit their mark.

"Your desperation is pitiful," taunted Miss Easter.

Hawke ignored her and kept throwing, making sure she missed.

"Really," said Miss Easter, "You aren't hitting me at all. I must have hit you quite hard."

"Shut up!" shouted Hawke, drawing out her sword and aiming.

She threw her sword like a spear. It was a direct hit at Miss Easter's chest. But her sword didn't have any sea prism stone in it, so it only scratched the rock.

Miss Easter cackled.

"You are the worst pirate I have ever seen," she sniggered, and she saw that Hawke was out of weapons and turned her body back to normal.

"Is that so?" asked Hawke as she retreated to the edge of the roof.

"Of cour—," Miss Easter started to say.

Then her body made contact with the roof with a sickening thud. The roof shook form the impact and cracks appeared around the shattered body of the agent. Hawke balanced on the edge of the building as the roof caved in.

Hawke crouched down and shielded her eyes from the flying shrapnel.

The dust and debris slowly settled.

Hawke looked down into the rubble. She could see Miss Easter's body among the rocks. As Hawke watched, the agent started to move her arms.

"Oh no you don't," gasped Hawke.

She jumped down and planted her feet squarely into the back of Miss Easter's head, slamming it further into the ground.

The agent's struggles stopped immediately.

Hawke sighed in relief.

"It worked," she gasped, staggering back outside and sinking to her knees.

Her head was still spinning, but at least now she could take a moment to get her bearings.

Hawke had figured that if she could distract Miss Easter and get her to keep her whole body as rock right up until the moment before she landed, she would forget how far she was from the ground and turn back into a normal person. She had used her weapons to distract Miss Easter form landing properly.

_It was a real long shot,_ she thought, _thank goodness it worked._

Hawke looked up and watched the flocks of birds soaring overhead.

One bird detached itself from the flock and fluttered down to where Hawke was sitting.

"Are you hurt, Princess?" it asked.

"She really got me good," Hawke winced, rubbing her head and jaw.

She thought she might have fractured something, her jaw cracked every time she moved it. She could already feel a bruise forming.

"Thank you for what you did. You saved me," she mumbled.

"It is an honour to hear you say that, Princess," replied the bird, "I am forever indebted to you."

Hawke blinked.

"Oh," she realised, "You're the poor one that she was throwing rocks at, aren't you?"

The bird hopped up onto her knee.

"Yes, Princess," said the bird, "This is the least I could do to repay you."

Hawke smiled and stood up.

She started to gather up her scattered weapons.

As she collected her sword and tied it around her waist, she turned to the bird that was still perched on the edge of the roof.

"Why do you call me that?" she asked.

The bird cocked his head to the side.

"Because you are the Princess," he said, matter-of-factly.

"But I'm not," objected Hawke as she picked up some of her knives, "I'm definitely not a princess. Vivi's the princess."

"Yes you are," said the little whiskey jack, flying over and landing on her shoulder, "You are the daughter of our ruler, the Sky Spirit."

"What?" said Hawke, "The Sky Spirit?"

"Every thousand years, the Sky Spirit takes a human form and chooses a human to bear his child," explained the bird.

"Umm," Hawke protested, "I don't know who my parents are, but I'm sure they were both completely human. No spirits involved."

"Nevertheless," said the bird, "You are the Princess."

"That doesn't make any sense," Hawke sighed as she collected the last of her weapons.

Just then she heard a sudden roaring sound.

She turned her attention to the clock tower. There was a huge dust cloud hovering over it. And the sounds of a battle could be heard.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, "Looks like Vivi couldn't stop the rebels outside the city!"

She glanced back towards the clock tower.

_That's our meeting place,_ she thought, _I'll get there faster over the rooftops._

Hawke ran to the edge, jumped over to the next building and ran across it.

The whiskey jack flew up by her ear.

"We will be close if you need more assistance, Princess," it said.

"Thank you," gasped Hawke.

She made for the tower as fast as she could. Her crew needed her, she could feel it.


	27. Chapter 27: The Dark Angel Rises

Hawke stopped on the edge of a building that was overlooking the central square. She had managed to get right up beside the clock tower.

She scanned the scene below for her friends.

The square was filled with swirling clouds of sand. Hawke pulled up her hood, trying to keep the dust out of her eyes. She had to squint to make out the forms of the people that filled the square.

There were soldiers fighting rebels everywhere. The sand storm was causing a lot of chaos because it was hard for anybody to see who they were fighting.

_Well this isn't good at all_, she thought worriedly.

Just then she spotted Nami's orange hair near the base of the steps to the palace. Squinting, she could make out Sanji and Zoro, with Usopp and Chopper beside them. The something else caught her eye: a red shirt and a yellow straw hat.

"He's okay!" she gasped, "Luffy! Everyone!"

Hawke quickly climbed down the building and race through the fray to get to her crew.

"Guys!" she shouted, coming up behind them.

"There you are Hawke-san," said Sanji, turning around, "Are you hurt my dear?"

"Hawke-san," Vivi smiled at her, "Everyone is safe."

"Hey Vivi," Hawke panted, catching her breath.

Nami and Vivi looked a little worse for wear, but they seemed fine otherwise. Sanji was supporting Usopp, who was covered in bandages and leaning heavily on Chopper, who seemed to be steady enough.

Hawke glanced towards Zoro.

Her eyes widened.

"You look terrible!" she gasped.

His waist and chest were slashed and blood was still oozing down his shirt.

Zoro looked down at himself.

"I'll be fine," he shrugged, "And you look a little beat up yourself."

Sanji rounded on him.

"You asshole!" he snapped, "How the hell did Nami-san get hurt! I'll kill you!"

"She's fine," snapped Zoro, bending over to catch his breath.

Luffy, who had his arms stretched up to the castle wall, suddenly spoke.

"Sorry, guys…" he said, "I went and lost to him."

The crew turned their heads towards the captain.

"That's why… That's why I won't lose again!" he muttered, "You guys take care of the rest!"

Hawke smiled.

"Go on," said Zoro, "Get out of here."

"If you can't beat him, then who the hell is supposed to!" shouted Usopp.

"I'm finishing this," Luffy said, uncharacteristically serious, "All of it!"

"Yosh!" shouted the crew as their captain shot up to meet his enemy.

"Bastard!" was Luffy's rallying cry as he flew upwards.

Hawke let her gaze follow him up. She squinted at the top of the wall, there was someone standing on the edge. She caught the glint of a golden hook.

"Crocodile!" she gasped.

"That bastard's gunna get what's coming to him now," muttered Zoro, "Luffy's all fired up."

Hawke looked at the swordsman.

"You shouldn't continue fighting like that," she said anxiously.

"What are you talking about?" scoffed Zoro, straightening up, "I'm ready for anything."

She sighed and gave him a worried look.

She didn't want him to get any more wounded than he already was. But she knew that there was nothing she could say that would make him not fight.

"Just be careful," she muttered.

Zoro blinked and nodded.

"Is your face okay?" he asked, looking at her with concern.

Hawke felt around her jaw. Her skin was all swollen and tender. She was still wincing every time she spoke.

"I think I might have cracked something," she mumbled, "I must look like a blowfish."

"It's all black and purple," gasped Nami.

Suddenly Hawke caught sight of a man she didn't recognize, but he'd been standing with them the whole time. She was just about to ask who he was when Vivi spoke up.

"There's no time for this! We have to hurry!" she shouted, "There's a bomb hidden somewhere in the city and it's going to be set off in ten minutes!"

"What?!" yelled Nami, "Where is it? How do you know?"

"I was up at the palace," panted Vivi, "Crocodile and Miss All Sunday were there. They had my father crucified against the building," she paused, "Kohza, the leader of the Rebel Army, showed up too," she added.

"What did you say?!" exclaimed Usopp, "The squares gunna be bombed in ten minutes?!"

"When the square is bombed, no one within the five-kilometer blast range will be left alive," Vivi's shoulders shook as she spoke, "That's what Crocodile said."

"The Rebel and Royal armies will both be wiped out," gasped Chopper.

"Right," said Zoro, "Let's search for the bombers."

The crew looked over at him.

"We have to stop them from setting it off!" snapped the swordsman.

"How are we going to find them?" panicked Usopp.

"And in just ten minutes?!" worried Nami.

"We don't have time to think about it!" Hawke stepped forward.

"She's right," said Vivi, "I think the bombers are most likely to be close to the square."

"We've got to split up," said Usopp, "And get above this sand cloud."

The crew took off in different directions.

Hawke ran down the left side of the square.

She looked into every building she passed.

_Where could they hide a bomb big enough to blow away the entire square_? she thought_, These rooms are way too small._

Hawke ran down a side street and scanned the rooftops and windows.

Every street she ran down, she searched every building. But her searches turned up nothing.

And the fighting out in the square was getting more and more fierce. Hawke could hear the shouts of the men, the ring of swords and gunshots.

_We need to stop this_, she thought frantically, _we only have five minutes left!_

A sudden idea popped into her head. These buildings were way too small! She needed to look for something big, something with enough space to hold a huge bomb.

_Maybe it's there!_ She thought, something clicking in her brain.

Just then there was a sudden hiss and a huge streak of red shot into the sky a little ways off to her right.

"That's Usopp," she muttered, "They've found the bombers!"

Hawke spun around and sprinted off in the direction of the flare.

Rounding the corner of a building, she saw Vivi and Usopp standing in the middle of the street.

Hawke ran up to them.

"It has to be there," Vivi was saying, "If the sandstorm was part of his plan, then they would need to be somewhere where they could still see to aim at the square. And it has to be a space large enough to hold a canon which isn't visible from the sky!"

"The clock tower?" Hawke panted, which is where she had guessed the bomb might be.

"There's no other place I can think of!" cried Vivi, nodding.

"Okay," stuttered Usopp, "I'll leave a message for the others when they get here."

"I'll go on ahead," said Vivi, sprinting away.

"Me too," said Hawke, following the princess.

"Wait for me!" shouted Usopp.

The trio sped through the streets and headed towards the clock tower.

Suddenly, a bunch of shadows loomed out of the sand cloud in front of them.

"We found the Princess!" a gruff voice laughed, "And she showed us right where to find her!"

"There's still Baroque Works members left!" gasped Vivi.

"Arg!" yelled Usopp, "The bad guys followed my message too!"

"Get back Vivi!" shouted Hawke, unsheathing her sword and jumping into the group of agents in front of them.

Hawke slashed at the billions and drove them away from the princess.

Usopp was trying his "psychology" fighting style and was scratching his finger nails across a chalk board while shouting insults. It was surprisingly affective.

Between them, they cleared the way and grabbed Vivi and continued on through.

"Run!" shouted Usopp, "Keep running Vivi!"

They were making their way closer to the clock tower, but the billions were in hot pursuit. Hawke and Usopp were fending them off, but they were greatly outnumbered.

Suddenly, many figures emerged from the dust cloud and jumped onto the billions, defeating them all in one fell swoop.

Hawke stopped running.

As the dust cleared around the group, a woman and her marines were revealed.

"Th-thank you!" stuttered Usopp.

Hawke stared warily. This woman looked uncannily like the girl in Zoro's picture, the one that was supposed to have died.

"We'll cover you," the woman said, "Please stop the bombing!"

"Thank you," said Vivi, and she began running.

Hawke gave the marine one last curious glance and then followed Vivi.

The clock tower finally came into view.

"We only have two minutes!" shouted Hawke up to Vivi.

Suddenly, a voice called out behind them.

"Vivi, Usopp, Hawke!"

They turned.

"Nami-san, Tony-kun!" exclaimed Vivi.

"What's going on?" asked Nami, jumping off Chopper, whom she had been riding, "The marines just helped us find you."

"Have you located the bombers?" asked Chopper.

"They must be in there!" said Vivi, pointing up to the face of the clock.

"It's up there?" Nami gasped.

Hawke's gaze followed Vivi's pointing finger up to the clock tower.

"If only Pell were here, he could stop the bomb," said Vivi, glancing up at the sky.

Hawke turned to her.

"Who's Pell?" she asked.

"The man who was with us before," said Vivi distractedly, "I don't see him."

"Okay," said Hawke, "As long as he's on our side."

"We'll have to find a way to get up there ourselves," said Chopper.

"The stairs are the only way," said Usopp, pointing.

Just then they heard a voice above them.

"Oi! Nami-san! Vivi-san! Hawke-chan!"

They looked up to see Sanji leaning out of a window above them.

"Why are you up there?!" shouted Usopp.

"Because you left a freaking message for me!" shouted Sanji in return, "It said "Clock Tower" so I started making my way up. Where are the bombers?"

"The top!" screamed Usopp, gesturing wildly, "They're at the top! Go kick their asses!"

Just then another voice came down from the clock tower building.

"Oi, I've been looking for you guys."

"Zoro!" shouted Sanji, "You're here too!?"

"The marines kept saying "Go north! Go north!", so I went up this building," the swordsman shouted down.

""North" and "Up" are completely different!" shouted Sanji.

Hawke stared up at the two men.

_Zoro is really pathetic when it comes to direction,_ she thought.

"Good job guys!" shouted Usopp, "Just keep heading up and kick the bombers asses!"

"They can't" said Vivi suddenly, "There isn't access to the room behind the clock from where they are. Other than from the sky, the only way to get there is through the first floor. Usopp was right, the stairs are our only way."

She made to start up the stairs.

"Hang on Vivi!" said Hawke excitedly, "I have an idea!"

The princess skidded to a halt.

Suddenly, there was a loud groaning noise.

The crew looked up. The face of the clock was slowly opening.

Two figures were standing in the opening.

"Who are they?" muttered Nami.

"Mr. 7 and Miss Father's Day!" gasped Vivi.

As they watched, the agents lit a match and held it to a fuse.

_Thirty seconds!_ Thought Hawke, _there's no time!_

She ran over and put her hands under Vivi's arms.

"I can get you up there," said Hawke, unfurling her wings.

They slid easily through the slits that Miss Easter's knife had made in her cloak earlier.

Vivi glanced over her shoulder.

"Hawke-san!" She gasped.

Just then, the rebels and soldiers caught sight of the pirates and started attacking them.

"Go, Hawke-san!" shouted Sanji, jumping down from his window, and landing behind her.

Hawke turned to fly up, but she was greeted by a sword pointing at her face.

"I've got you, you stupid pir—," the man holding the sword stopped.

Hawke blinked.

"Bran!" she exclaimed nervously.

"Dark Angel?" Bran gaped at her.

His bandana was caked with sand and was pulled down around his neck.

"How did you get here?"

"I can't talk now Bran," said Hawke, "I need to get up there," she gestured to the tower with her head.

Bran looked up, then back at Hawke. His face showed great indecision.

"I can't let you go, Angel," he said with pity in his eyes.

"Bran," said Hawke, fixing him with her stare, "There's a bomb up there, and it will kill all of us if you don't let me go now."

Bran's eyes widened.

"What?!" he exclaimed, "Why would there be a bomb?"

"Bran, please," begged Hawke, "Or everyone here: Tank, you, and me, everyone will die!"

Bran bit his lip.

Hawke looked up at him. _Fifteen seconds!_

"Please," she whispered.

He closed his eyes and clenched his fist around his sword. Hawke watched as the blade was slowly lowered away from her face.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Bran gave her a weak smile. Then his eyes focused on something behind her and his face became serious.

"I'll defeat the cook instead," he said and ran past Hawke.

Hawke let a small smile lift her lips as she took off.

She soared up to the open clock face and hovered in front of the opening.

There was a huge cannon taking up most of space. Looking into it, they could see a giant bomb inside.

Mr. 7 and Miss Father's Day were sneering at them from the opening.

"Well, well if it isn't Miss Wednesday," laughed Miss Father's Day, "She betrayed the organisation!"

They pointed their guns at the girls.

"Well this is an unexpected bonus!" Miss Father's Day laughed.

They fired.

Hawke managed to dodge their first round by suddenly dropping in altitude. She flew up again and readied get Vivi through into the clock tower.

"Seven seconds!" Nami shouted up from the square.

"Here we go Vivi!" shouted Hawke, picking up her speed.

"Give it your all, Hawke-san!" Vivi replied.

"Running away?" laughed Miss Father's Day as Hawke flew higher, "It's futile!"

They let off another shot.

Hawke let out a cry as the bullets made contact.

"Hawke!" shouted Zoro.

The scout clenched her teeth and catapulted herself into the opening, throwing Vivi up and over the two agents as Hawke bowled into them.

The agents were flung out into the square and Hawke landed heavily on the floor of the clock tower. She raised her head.

"Go Vivi!" she shouted through clenched teeth.

She could see the princess bolt towards the lit fuse. It was about to fire!

Time stood still.

Then Hawke saw the spark of the fuse fall to the ground, detaching itself from the string. The fuse hung limp. The bomb didn't go off.

There was no movement in the tower for a few long seconds.

"Vivi?" Hawke gasped weakly, pushing herself up.

Then she let out a whimper of pain and held her left side. Looking down, she saw a blood stain forming through her robes.

"Damn," she muttered as she went down on one knee, "So they did get me."

"Hawke-san!" screeched Vivi.

Hawke raised her head and saw Vivi standing at the head of the cannon.

"Everyone!" she screamed down into the square, "The bomb has a timer! It's still going to explode!"

"What?!" Hawke gasped.

She stood, ignoring the pain, and ran over to stand with Vivi.

They stared into the cannon in horror.

The bomb was sitting quietly, with a small timer placed on its front. Positioned almost as if to mock them for thinking they'd won their fight to stop it.

"That… that man is evil," seethed Hawke.

She could almost see Crocodile's gloating face staring down at them, laughing.

Vivi let out a strangled scream and began beating her fists against the cannon.

"You made us search for the cannon!" she shouted, "You even told us when they were going to fire it…!"

She sank to her knees. Hawke knelt down beside her.

"Just how much do you have to humiliate me before you are satisfied!" she sobbed, "How much do you have to sneer at me before you're happy?"

She raised her head.

"CROCODILE!" she screamed, her voice strangled and cracking.

Hawke put her hand on Vivi's shoulder.

"He hasn't won yet, Princess," she said shakily, "Luffy is going to beat Crocodile, and we still have a little time."

However, Hawke was starting to panic herself. She couldn't see any way of stopping the timer.

"You're quite right," said a voice from above them.

Both girls looked up.

Vivi sprang to her feet

"Pell!" she cried and threw her arms around a man who was standing on the edge of the tower opening.

The man hugged her back and stepped down into the room.

"This place brings back memories doesn't it?" he asked Vivi quietly.

"Pell!" exclaimed Vivi.

She began speaking very quickly, telling him about the bomb.

Hawke recognized him as the man who was with them at the base of the palace steps.

_He seems to be Vivi's friend,_ she thought, _but I don't think he's listening to her._

Pell had turned his head and was looking at Hawke.

"Who is your wise friend?" he asked.

Vivi stopped talking and looked over.

"Hawke," she said hesitantly, "She's one of the Strawhat pirates who've been helping me."

Pell held out his hand.

"It is an honour to meet you," he said as Hawke shook his hand.

"Umm, thank you," stuttered she, rustling her still outstretched wings, "But do we really have time for this?"

Pell smiled, eyeing her wings.

"You are correct," he said.

He made to turn away, but then turned back.

"Hawke-san," he said suddenly, "Please help Princess Vivi restore the peace we once had in this kingdom."

Hawke blinked.

"O-Of course," she stuttered, "That's what our crew has been doing this whole time."

"It is important that _you _help, though," he said quietly.

Then he turned to Vivi.

"I…," he began, "Devoting my life to the service of the Nefeltari Family… fills my heart with such everlasting pride."

Vivi stared at him

Suddenly, before their eyes, he transformed into a falcon and leapt onto the canon, grasping the bomb with his claws and pulling it out.

The two girls stared in horror as he rose into the sky.

Vivi ran to the edge and reached up after him.

Hawke followed and put her hand on Vivi's shoulder, making sure she didn't fall.

"Pell!" Vivi cried out, agony clearly showing in her voice and her face.

The sky was suddenly filled with blinding light and the sound of a huge explosion.

Both girls brought their hands to their mouths in an attempt to silence their cries.

The shockwave blasted through the square, crumbling buildings and breaking windows. Its force was so strong that it broke the sandstorm swirling around the square and scattered the sand.

Vivi and Hawke stared up into the sky in horror, still not believing what had just happened in front of them.

A tear fell down Vivi's cheek.

"Pell…," she whispered.

Hawke took a breath.

"He…," she stuttered, trying to arrange her thoughts, "He protected your country… to the end Vivi. He really loved you and the King."

A sudden roar filled the square.

Vivi sank to her knees and looked out over the plaza.

"Why are they still fighting?" she asked frantically.

Hawke looked down into the square.

Some people had stopped fighting when the gust had blown the sand away and were looking up at the sky. But the majority of the people had barley given the explosion a second thought. The battle raged on.

"Stop it!" screamed Vivi into the square, "Stop fighting! We're safe now! Stop it!"

She pounded her hands against the ground.

"Please stop fighting! Stop fighting! Please stop fighting!" she continued, her anguish pouring out with every word.

"Vivi, don't stand so close to the edge," said Hawke in a low voice.

She could see that Vivi was on the verge of a break down and she didn't want her to fall.

"Stop! Stop this fighting!" Vivi kept screaming.

Hawkes mind was racing, trying to find a way to stop the fighting.

Just then, the ground started to shake.

Up in the tower, Vivi and Hawke felt the tremors and looked out.

"Look over there!" cried Hawke, pointing to a building that was falling down.

"What's happening?" gasped Vivi.

As they watched, more buildings began tumbling down in that section of the city. Large chunks of rocks flew in every direction.

Suddenly an object was shot upwards. It flew higher and higher, tumbling through the air. Hawke saw a fur lined cape flying in the wind and the glint of a golden hook.

"Crocodile!" she gasped.

Vivi looked up.

"Luffy did it!" she shouted happily.

Hawke took Vivi's hand and smiled.

"He said he would kick Crocodiles ass didn't he?" she laughed.

Vivi gave her a wide smile.

"It's over," she sighed, "He's been defeated."

"Yes," replied Hawke.

Vivi looked out into the plaza. Her face fell immediately.

"How can they still be fighting?!" she cried frantically, "It's over! There's no reason to fight!"

She sank to her knees.

"Even when there's no one left to fight…" she slammed her fist onto the floor, "Please… stop this bloodshed."

Hawke watched as Vivi's shoulders shook with emotion.

"Stop all this killing!" Vivi screamed at the crowd.

"We need to get their attention," muttered Hawke, thinking as fast as she could, "Something so big no one could ignore it."

Hawke snapped her fingers.

"Vivi!" she said, putting her hand on the girl's shoulder, "I have an idea."

"Really?" asked Vivi weakly.

"Yes," reassured Hawke, "You just stand here where they can all see you. I'm going up there."

She pointed to the roof.

"Okay," said Vivi as she stood.

Hawke flapped her wings and flew out of the opening and up onto the spire that crowned the clock tower.

A shot of pain ripped down her side.

_I can't let that stop me right now_, she told herself through gritted teeth.

She perched on top of the spire, using her outstretched wings to steady herself, and raised her hands, cupping them around her mouth.

"Whiskey Jacks!" she shouted to the sky, "Can you hear me? I need your help!"

She lowered her hands and scanned the horizon. The last clouds of sand were blowing out of view, leaving a blue sky. There were large, dark clouds on the horizon.

_Those look like rain clouds,_ thought Hawke.

She caught sight of a small black bird flying towards her.

"We are here Princess," it said as it fluttered around, trying to hover in front of Hawke's face.

"Thank you for staying close," said Hawke, "My friend and I need to get the attention of all those people fighting down there," she pointed, "I need you to direct their attention to me."

"We will not fail you, Princess," said the whiskey jack, "You shall have their attention."

It flew away, letting out small chirps and clicks as it did so.

Hawke watched as it flew higher and higher, until it was so high up that she couldn't even see it.

_I hope they hurry_, she thought and turned her gaze back to the plaza. She caught sight of Crocodile's body, still twirling through the air. _Luffy must have punched him really hard, _she thought and smiled, _that means he must be okay._

Hawke heard a sharp chirp from above her and looked upwards.

She stared in awe. There were hundreds upon hundreds of whiskey jacks circling the sky over her head where moments before there had been only blue sky.

_All the flocks in Alabasta must be here,_ she thought in amazement.

As Hawke watched, the huge flock dove as one. It headed down to the plaza and spread out, so that every inch of the square was covered by a bird. They flew lower and were actually below head level of most of the soldiers and rebels.

Hawke looked on as the flock flew into the faces of each and every person in the plaza. As the birds passed through the crowd, the men were lowering their weapons and watching after the birds.

_Excellent,_ she thought.

The birds flew through the whole plaza, interrupting every fight and turning every head. When they had reached the far end, they rose as one and flew back towards Hawke.

They formed a dark line and shot over her head, she could feel the wind from all their wings.

Hawke lowered her gaze to the plaza. Every face was now turned towards her.

"Good work," she said to the last of the birds flying overhead, "Thank you."

The birds chirped happily and flew away. One of the stragglers came and perched on her shoulder. Hawke smiled.

She steadied her nerves and raised her arms, gesturing down at the people below her.

"People of Alabasta!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

A ripple went through the crowd and she could hear some muttering.

"You have been fighting needlessly," continued Hawke, "You have been lead to clash by manipulated reasons!"

She lowered her hands before her and gestured down to the clock face.

"Now hear your Princess!" cried Hawke.

Hawke heard Vivi's voice rise above the noise of the crowd.

"Please hear me!" she was shouting, "Stop all this fighting!"

Suddenly, Crocodile's battered body fell to the ground, right in the middle of the square.

"Crocodile?" muttered the crowd, "Where did he fall from? Why is he here?"

"The rain, just as it is falling," Vivi's voice began, quieting the crowd, "Just as it always has, will fall again. The nightmare… has finally ended!"

The crowd shifted.

"The nightmare is over?" a rebel yelled, "You can't just call this a bad dream!"

The crowd roared in agreement.

"We saw the King attack a village with our own eyes!" someone yelled

"Yeah, and Kohza was shot by the Royal Army!" shouted another.

"How can we accept that for those who have died for this rebellion?"

The crowd began moving and taking up arms again.

Suddenly another voice rang out from the palace wall.

"Throw down your weapons, Royal Army!"

Another voice came up from the crowd.

"And you do the same, Rebel Army."

The crowd parted to reveal a large man with loosely curled hair. Hawke recognized him as Igaram, Vivi's body guard from the Cactus Island.

He had a child in his arms.

"That's the boy that the Royal Army beat up!" said a man.

The little boy coughed and spoke.

"No," he said, "Someone else did this to me. After he gave that speech, I saw his face change into someone else's. He wasn't our king!"

The crowd muttered and gasps of disbelief and shock rippled through it.

"That's right," the leader of the Rebel Army, Kohza, spoke up, "This war was a set-up from the beginning."

Hawke looked down and saw the rest of the crew was quietly leaving the square and heading into the city.

_Yes,_ she thought, _we pirates shouldn't be mixed up in this country's affairs._

Igaram spoke up again.

"Everything that has happened to this country, I shall explain to you myself, in full detail. Throw down your weapons, all of you!"

The weapons fell, but Hawke saw that there was about to be an uproar. She glance to the sky and got another idea.

"People of the Alabasta Kingdom!" she shouted again, raising her wings, "You have been through so much suffering. You have been pushed to the brink and have begun fighting amongst yourselves. But behold!" she pointed to the sky, "The rains will fall once more!"

Hawke spread her arms to the sky.

"Let there be peace!" she cried.

The rain clouds that had been on the horizon were now overhead. As Hawke finished her speech, small raindrops started to fall, quickly becoming a down pour.

Cheers and laughter filled the square.

"The rain has finally come!" was shouted through all the streets in the kingdom.

Hawke smiled and flew back down behind the tower. She landed and found her way to where the crew had gathered.

"That was quite the speech," Nami gave her a grin.

"Yeah and where did all those birds come from?" asked Usopp.

"I'm not quite sure," laughed Hawke, "But I needed to get everyone's attention, and it worked."

"Well," said Sanji, "Now that that's settled, we need to find our idiot captain."

The crew began making their way through the city in the direction that Crocodile had been thrown from.

As they walked, Hawke began to feel more and more pain in her side. She kept pressure on her wound with her hand, but she slowly fell behind everyone.

"Are you alright Hawke?" Zoro called back.

The crew stopped.

"I just need a little breather," she said weakly, leaning heavily against the wall of a building.

"Oh, there he is," said Sanji, looking down the street.

The crew turned and saw a man carrying Luffy on his back walking towards them.

The man stopped.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Ah, that guy on your back…," said Sanji politely, "Thanks for carrying him out of there. He's with us, we'll take him from here."

The man raised his eyebrows.

"So you're the pirates who brought Vivi back to this country," he said.

Sanji looked at him questioningly.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Just then Vivi came running up behind them.

"Papa!" she called.

Hawke pushed herself off the wall and stood as tall as she could. She quickly caught up with the group.

"Papa?" Sanji looked at her questioningly, then jerked his head around to look at the man, "Vivi-chan's father?!"

"You're the King?" asked Zoro.

The man nodded and lowered Luffy off his back.

"I was prepared for death, but he saved me," said the King, "After he fought with Crocodile, he carried us both up to the surface."

He quickly explained what had happened in the fight between Luffy and Crocodile.

"And we don't have to worry about the poison?" asked Usopp.

"No," the King replied, "He has already been given the antidote. But he must be treated for his wounds, as should all of you."

He looked at the rest of the crew.

Zoro sat down against the wall of a building.

"So, Vivi," he grunted, "Hurry up and go already."

"Eh?" Vivi looked over at him.

"Get back to the square," said Zoro.

"That's right," laughed Usopp, "This country's rebellion is finally over. But without the words of the King and the Princess to guide it, it won't be a real ending."

"Right," smiled Vivi, "Then we should all-"

"Vivi-chan," Sanji interrupted her, "You understand right? We're marked men. We ain't gonnna concern ourselves with countries and such."

"We'll go back to the palace when we're ready," smiled Nami.

"We're exhausted," sighed Hawke.

Vivi smiled and returned to the square with her father.

As soon as the two were out of sight, the entire crew collapsed onto the ground.

"We did it," muttered Hawke to the sand.

She reached out her hand and found a boot. Using her remaining strength to turn her head, she saw a green waist band before smiling and dropping off to sleep.


	28. Chapter 28: The Statue

Hawke awoke to darkness and the gentle sound of rain. She sat up with a groan, her left side ached immensely.

"Hawke-san!" she heard a quiet voice, "Your fever's broken!"

Hawke turned and saw that she was in a room full of beds. Her crew members lay sleeping beside her. She glanced over at Usopp. His butt was sticking up in the air and his head was stuck at an extremely awkward angel.

_How can he sleep like that?_ She thought and smiled.

Then she saw two figures at the end of the row of beds.

"Vivi," she smiled at the princess, "Igaram."

The two returned her smile.

"I was worried you might be one of the more serious cases," said Igaram, coming over to her bed, "But you seem to have recovered miraculously."

"Serious cases?" asked Hawke.

"You and Luffy-san were still unconscious when they brought you to the palace," said Vivi, gesturing at the other beds, "Mr. Bushido said that when they woke up, you were lying in a pool of blood. You had a very high fever, as does Luffy-san."

Hawke glanced over at the captain. He seemed to be sleeping soundly, but she could see beads of sweat on his forehead.

"He'll be okay though, won't he?" she asked, turning back to Vivi.

The princess nodded.

"Tony-kun has recovered," she said, "I've been helping him treat everyone."

"Just you?" asked Hawke, "How long has it been?"

"Only a day since Crocodile was arrested," said Igaram

"Oh, good," sighed Hawke, "It hasn't been long."

She turned to Vivi.

"You should rest," she said with concern, "You're inured too," she noted the bandage on Vivi's forehead.

"I'm fine," reassured the princess, "I was not nearly as injured as you guys."

She lowered her eyes. Hawke could see tears falling into her lap.

"Everyone… you all gave so much to help me… thank you."

Hawke smiled.

"Well, we're nakama aren't we?" she laughed.

The rain fell for three full days. There was a constant stream of people in the streets, celebrating and filling up all the pots and containers they could with water.

The Strawhat crew took this time to recover from their adventure and relaxed in the palace. The attention of the public hadn't turned to the events that had led to the abrupt end of the civil war yet, they were focused on the return of the rain.

Luffy's body had been battered to the brink during his fights with Crocodile. He stayed unconscious, and the crew kept a watchful eye on him, especially Vivi.

Nami had hurt her foot pretty badly while fighting Miss Doublefinger, but she recovered quickly and was soon walking around normally. Hawke saw the navigator always coming back to their room with more and more books. The King had told her she could take all the books she wanted from the Palace Library since he'd already read them all.

Chopper recovered from his wounds and dehydration on the first day and was then kept busy healing the rest of the crew.

Usopp's whole body had been severely beaten, but he was back to his old self in no time too, thanks to Choppers excellent medical skills.

Zoro and Sanji had severe wounds, but they kept taking off their bandages and leaving the hospital room, making Chopper run around after them trying to reapply them.

Hawke stayed in bed for another day, but her bullet wound was healing fast thanks to Chopper's medicine. After she had been deemed healthy enough to get up, she had walked around with a bandage around her head, which was holding her jaw closed. The right side of her face was covered by a large, hand-shaped bruise, but the swelling had disappeared and even the bruise was fading away quickly. And within three days, she didn't need the head wrap any more. Now that she had almost fully recovered, she was keeping busy by helping Chopper and Vivi take care of the others.

At the moment she was out in the palace garden reapplying bandages to Zoro's torso.

"You really need to stop moving around," she muttered, wrapping the cloth around his chest, "Why on earth were you training with these great gashes in your chest!"

"They should be more flexible so they don't fall off," grunted the swordsman, picking up a piece of the bandage, "And if I don't train, how am I going to get stronger? I can't sit around doing nothing."

"Well, with your injuries, you should be in bed all day," said Hawke, pulling the cloth tight.

"Ouch," snapped Zoro, "Not too hard."

"Oh, so you _can_ feel pain," laughed Hawke.

Zoro frowned at her. But that only made her laugh harder.

"Ouch!" she winced and brought her hand down to her waist.

Her bullet wound was still very sensitive.

"You shouldn't be laughing," snapped Zoro.

Hawke stuck out her tongue at him.

"Well then don't be funny," she teased.

Zoro blushed and frowned.

"You should have told us how injured you were," he muttered, "You lost a lot of blood."

Hawke rolled her eyes. But she was touched by Zoro's concern for her.

"What about you and Sanji," she said, putting the final knot in the cloth and giving Zoro his shirt back, "You guys have wounds that are far worse than mine was."

Zoro grunted.

"Our bodies are used to it," he said, "Yours isn't."

"Well it will be," snapped Hawke in response, "I don't want you or the crew to have to worry about me all the time. I'm going to get stronger."

"We're all going to worry about each other," said Zoro.

Hawke blinked and looked at him.

_That was uncharacteristically open of him,_ she thought as she felt the colour rise in her cheeks, _I like it_.

She gave the swordsman a smile.

He looked down and pulled something out of his belt.

"Vivi gave me this today," he grunted, handing Hawke a newspaper, "She said you should read it."

Hawke unfolded the pages and a sheet of paper fell out, as she bent down to pick it up, Hawke glanced at the front page.

"Oh my!" she gasped and straightened, forgetting the fallen page.

"What is it?" asked Zoro, trying to read it over her shoulder.

Hawke eyes widened as she read the paper.

She shakily turned and raised the article so Zoro could see it clearly.

The photo covering the top half of the page was a silhouette of the clock tower in the square of Alubarna.

The tower stood out clearly against the blue sky. And on the top, Hawke could be seen standing on the spire, her cloak covering her face and her wings outspread.

The headline read: Mysterious Angel Brings Rain to Alabasta! Is She a Friend or Foe?

"Well that's not bad," muttered Zoro as he read the title.

Hawke shook her head and lowered the paper. She started to read the article out loud.

"In an amazing turn of events this Wednesday, a miraculous stranger almost single-handedly ended the war and brought rains to the parched desert kingdom. This mysterious woman stopped the fighting and gave Princess Vivi the time to explain the truth. No sooner had the real events behind the war been revealed, than the winged woman raised her hands and summoned rain to fall once again.

No one knows who she is or where she came from, but one thing is clear: this dark-winged angel has brought peace to Alabasta. Her current whereabouts are unknown. The Angel went as swiftly as she came, leaving behind many grateful people and a kingdom owing her a great debt.

The World Government has issued a bounty on the Dark Angel's head for undisclosed reasons. They caution the public to stay away from her and that any sightings are to be reported to authorities immediately."

As she finished reading, Zoro bent down and retrieved the paper that had fallen.

"I was wondering if you'd get one," he grunted and held up the page, "You drew a lot of attention to yourself."

Hawke let out a gasp and stepped back.

The paper that had come in the newspaper, and in every newspaper that day, was a wanted poster.

The poster read as follows: "Wanted dead or alive: Dark Angel, 100 000 000 beri" and showed a close up of Hawke's silhouette from atop the clock tower.

"A hundred million is really good for a first bounty," said Zoro, looking back at the poster.

Hawke glared at him.

"This isn't funny Zoro!" she exclaimed, snatching the poster from his hand.

The swordsman winced at her fury.

"Calm down," he snapped, "It isn't like they can recognize you."

Hawke opened her mouth to retort, and then closed it again. She blinked and looked back to the poster.

Zoro was right. The figure on the poster was barely recognizable as a woman, let alone as Hawke. Her face and hair were completely hidden by the shadow of her hood. The only features that were clear were her wings, glistening in the sunlight so every feather was shown in detail.

"You're right," she muttered, "No one could know that that's me, except…"

She trailed off and a worried look crossed her face.

"What do you mean?" asked Zoro, coming closer to her.

"There were the two men who brought me to Crocodile," whispered Hawke, "They would know that that's me, as well as Crocodile and Miss All Sunday."

Zoro's gaze darkened.

"Would they turn you in?" he asked sullenly.

Hawke thought. Her forehead wrinkled as she stared at the ground.

"No," she said finally, "I don't think they would do that. But I can't say the same for Crocodile or Miss All Sunday."

She felt in her heart that Tank and Bran would not give her away as the Dark Angel.

"That name is really sticking, isn't it?" she muttered aloud.

"What?" asked Zoro, flicking some dust off the hilt of his swords.

Hawke blushed.

"Dark Angel," she mumbled, "It was just a nickname, but it seems to have become an alter ego."

"Well I think it suits you," said Zoro.

Hawke glanced over at the swordsman. He was standing with his arms crossed and giving her a small smirk. She blushed again and smiled.

"I missed you a lot," she said, looking over at a brilliantly pink flower patch.

Zoro flushed and took a step back. Then he cleared his throat.

"Well… uh," he stuttered, "I missed you too, I guess, we… we all did, I mean..." he trailed off and spun around, facing away from her.

Hawke looked up and smiled.

"That's nice to hear," she laughed.

For a few moments, they just stood there in silence.

Hawke hesitated. She had a sudden urge to hold the swordsman's hand. She clenched her fist, unsure of what he would think. Then she slowly reached out towards Zoro.

Just then he turned back towards her

"Well, we should probably go back," he said, "Luffy might wake up soon."

Hawke jerked her hand back to her side, hoping he hadn't seen her movements.

"Uh, sure," she smiled enthusiastically.

"You don't have to be so happy all the time," Zoro said, glancing at her.

But Hawke caught the small twitch at the corner of his mouth, revealing his hidden smile.

The pair made their way back to the palace.

As they walked down the hall towards the infirmary, they met up with Usopp and Sanji who had been out shopping for supplies.

"Oi, Hawke," said Usopp, "I was looking around this morning and found something that you gotta see!"

"What is it?" she asked, her curiosity sparked immediately.

"I'll show you right now," said the sniper, handing his bag to the cook, "You can come too, Zoro, if you want."

Zoro grunted and followed Hawke as she joined the sniper and followed him down the hall.

"What did you find?" she asked, "And are you sure you're okay to be moving around like this?"

"I'm perfectly fine," said Usopp, puffing out his chest, "I'm a super-fast healer. It must be because of my warrior's blood."

"Yes, I'm sure that's it," Zoro snapped sarcastically.

Hawke smiled and nudged him with her elbow.

"Be nice," she laughed.

Zoro flinched and frowned, but the frown quickly left his face again.

Hawke could tell he was also curious about what their friend had found.

"It's right over here, I think," said Usopp as they rounded another corner.

Hawke's eyes widened as she took in the room they had entered. There were statues and effigies all over the place. The room was full of monuments dedicated to heroes, kings and queens of the past, and sacred animals.

"This must be a room for giving thanks," said Hawke, approaching a statue of a large jackal, noticing a small bowl of rice and some incense, "People must come here to pay their respects to the spirits represented by the statues."

"But there's one that doesn't seem to belong here," said Usopp slyly.

She gave him a questioning look.

The sniper disappeared behind a statue of a woman holding an urn on her head. Hawke and Zoro followed. They were making for the far corner of the room.

"Here it is!" Usopp posed dramatically, pointing at one of the statues.

Hawke approached. Zoro stayed back, looking at a figure of a large man with a sword.

The statue Usopp was pointing out was smaller than the others, about a head shorter, and stood on a small platform.

The figure had its arms outstretched in a welcoming gesture. The face was hidden within a drooping hood and the feet were covered by a flowing robe. Out of the figures back, two large wings extended back and up, they had been painted or stained black. But other than that, the rest of the statue was the white of the rock it had been made with.

"This must be the statue that Vivi was talking about," said Usopp proudly, "And I found it. I'm a master at finding things."

Hawke was staring at the statue. She still had the newspaper clenched in her hand. She unfolded it, raised the wanted poster and held it next to the statue.

"Woah," said Usopp, "It looks just like the person in that photo. Who is that?"

He leaned in and squinted at the picture.

"It's me, Usopp," Hawke whispered.

"Eh?!" the sniper shouted and snatched the poster out of her hands.

"You're right, it is you!" he exclaimed, "You have a bounty?! And it's way higher than Luffy's!"

"But that's not me," said Hawke quietly, taking back the picture, "I mean, you can't even tell who this is if you don't know it's me."

"Still," muttered Usopp, "That's an uncanny resemblance."

"Yeah, it is," mumbled Hawke, staring at the statue.

They stood in silence for a few moments, both wondering about the figure in front of them.

Just then, Sanji's voice could be heard echoing through the palace.

"Usopp, get back here and help me unload all the stuff you bought!" he shouted.

"Ugh," sighed Usopp, "He needs me to do everything for him. Coming?" he turned and asked Hawke.

The scout shook her head.

"I'm going to stay a bit longer, if that's alright," she said, glancing back at the statue, "I'll come soon though."

"Okie dokie," said Usopp over his shoulder as he left the hall.

As the sniper left, Zoro finally joined Hawke at the statue.

"So this is what Vivi was talking about?" he muttered.

Hawke approached the statue. She bent down and looked at the brass plate stuck onto the edge of the platform.

"Dark Angel," she read aloud.

She straightened and felt a small nudge on her hip.

"See," Zoro said, "It's the person in the poster, not you."

Hawke blinked and felt her face begin to flush.

Zoro had come to stand next to her as she inspected the figure. He wasn't uncomfortably close, but the hilt of one of his swords was gently pressing against her hip. The white one… _Wasn't that… hers_, she thought.

Hawke looked at the swordsman. His gaze was fixed straight ahead, but she saw a small twitch at the corner of his mouth.

She felt like this was Zoro's way of trying to comfort her.

"Yeah," she said happily, "It's not like anyone's going to come looking for me."

Hawke glanced back at the statue and sighed.

"What does this mean, though?" she wondered aloud.

There was a pause. Then she felt Zoro shift his position.

"Here," he grunted.

Hawke turned and saw the swordsman's hand was outstretched and holding a large bundle.

"I forgot that I'd picked it up, or I would've given it to you earlier."

"You forgot that you had something that big in your pocket?" she asked dubiously, eyeing the package.

"Shut up!" the swordsman said gruffly.

Hawke smiled as she took the bundle and untangled it.

She gasped.

"My jacket!" she exclaimed, "I thought I left it in the cage back in the casino!"

"Well that's where I found it," muttered Zoro.

Hawke put the jacket on over her t-shirt. She felt the familiar weight of the leather and an instant feeling of comfort washed over her. Vivi had offered her some clothes so she didn't have to walk around in that dancer's outfit anymore. Hawke was okay with the casual t-shirt and jeans the princess had given her, but she had still felt exposed. She was used to the feeling of her leather jacket. She could feel her emotions getting the better of her.

"Thank you so much, Zoro!" she smiled and pulled the swordsman into a hug, "I was really upset when I thought I'd lost it."

Zoro's body stiffened at first, but Hawke felt him start to relax as she held on for a bit longer.

"It was nothing," he snapped, "I just thought you'd still want it."

Hawke let out a laugh and stepped back.

She noticed Zoro's face was a little dark, he seemed distracted.

"So you were in the same cage that we were put in?" he asked suddenly.

Hawke blinked.

"Uh, yeah," she mumbled, "Crocodile was holding me prisoner in there. I must have been in there for days…It feels like so long ago now."

Zoro looked like he was about to say something, but he stopped himself. His face was dark and he had his fist clenched at his side.

"I think you owe us an explanation," he finally growled.

Hawke blinked.

"That creep called you "Angel" and said you were even more important than his plan to take over Alabasta. I think we have the right to know why."

Hawke turned to face him.

_They're right,_ she thought,_ I should tell everyone what I do know, just in case something comes of this situation later._

"Yes," she said quietly, "I don't know much about this myself, but you have a right to know."

She motioned back the way they had come.

"Let's go back to the infirmary," she said, turning as she spoke, "I'll tell everyone at once."

The two made their way back through the palace in silence.

Hawke was a little ahead, leading the way. But as they neared the doors, Zoro sped up to reach them first. He pushed them open and let Hawke go through before him.

"Thanks, Zoro," Hawke smiled up at him as she walked under his arm.

They found the rest of the crew in this room. Sanji and Usopp were organising the supplies they'd just bought, Nami was reading a book, and Luffy, it seemed, had just woken up. Vivi and Chopper were sitting by his bed.

"Oi, Zoro, Hawke!" laughed the captain, "Long time no see."

Hawke returned his laugh with a smile and sat down at the end of his bed.

"It's good to see you again, captain," she said.

"Long time no see?" Luffy asked her, bending his head to the side, "Long time no see?"

"Well you've been asleep for three days," muttered Usopp, organising his groceries on a table by the door.

"Three days?!" exclaimed Luffy, "I've missed fifteen meals!"

"Why were you so fast at calculating _that_?!" snapped Nami.

"And you counted five meals per day," muttered Usopp.

Hawke smiled.

Vivi turned to her.

"So," she began, "Usopp said he showed you something in the castle?"

"Yeah," replied Hawke, "We found that statue that you mentioned."

Vivi gave her a strange look, but didn't say anything. Hawke could see a newspaper on her lap.

"Statue?" asked Nami.

"Actually, I'm the one that found it," said Usopp, posing dramatically and beaming with pride.

"The one with the robes and the wings?" asked Chopper, his eyes shining.

"Yeah," said the scout, looking down at the reindeer, "And it looks just like she described it."

"Woah!" gasped Chopper, "There's a statue of Hawke in Vivi's castle!"

Luffy, who had just seen the wanted poster on Vivi's lap, suddenly sprang up, standing on his bed.

"Oi!" he shouted, "How come you have such a high bounty! Why's it higher than mine! That's not fair!"

"Calm down Luffy," said Hawke nervously, "I think I can explain that a little, and in a way, that isn't me."

Luffy stopped short, his arms still up in the air.

"Huh?" he asked, "It's not you? Oh okay then!"

He immediately became cheery again and sat down.

Hawke stared at her brother.

_He can be so clueless sometimes_, she thought.

"But this _is_ you, Hawke-san," said Sanji, going over and picking up the wanted poster, "And this bounty is pretty high for this part of the Grand Line. This is serious."

"Yes I know that, Sanji," Hawke nodded and pointed at the poster, "But the only people who know that that figure is me are you guys, Crocodile, his partner Robin and the two billions who kidnapped me."

She faced the rest of the crew and spoke a little louder.

"Of those people, I think the only ones who might not keep the secret are Crocodile and Ro—"

Hawke suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes widened and she began looking worried.

"What's wrong?" asked Chopper.

"I- I just remembered someone else," stuttered Hawke, covering her mouth with her hand and standing, "Back in the port city, the one where I got kidnapped, I used my wings to try and escape from the marine called Smoker…"

"What?!" exclaimed Usopp, "If Smoker knows about this we're done for!"

He pretended to faint onto a nearby bed.

Hawke was almost frantic.

"This is all my fault!" she exclaimed, on the brink of tears, "I was too careless, if the navy finds out who the Dark Angel really is, then they'll hunt us down without mercy!"

"Calm down Hawke," said Nami in a concerned voice, "The bounty is to try to get bounty hunters chasing us. It doesn't mean that the marines will go completely out of their way to get us."

"But they will!" panicked Hawke, "Luffy, I can't sail with you if they find out!"

Everyone in the room stiffened.

"What?!" shouted Luffy, rounding on her.

"Calm down," Zoro interrupted suddenly, "Hawke, explain to us why you have such a high bounty and why the government will hunt you down. Because, when you think about it, you didn't really do anything that would be worthy of a hundred million bounty."

Hawke clenched her fists and slowed her breathing.

_He's right_, she thought_, this is probably making no sense to them._

She cleared her throat.

"While I was being held captive by Crocodile, I learned a little about myself, although I'm still not completely sure if what I found out is true."

She took a breath.

"Miss All Sunday told me of an ancient prophecy. She thinks, for some reason, that I am the subject of that prophecy and that, if I am, the World Government will hunt me down and kill me."

"What?!" exclaimed the crew as a whole.

"But why?!" whimpered Chopper.

"What is this prophecy?" asked Vivi suddenly.

She was staring at Hawke fearfully.

"Umm..." Hawke mumbled, "I think it went something like this: From the East it will come, A dark angel to bring a long awaited peace, the history will be revealed when black wings fly once more."

Vivi's eyes widened.

"I've heard that before!" she exclaimed, "All the rulers of the kingdoms know it."

"What?" gasped Hawke, "So it is a real prophecy? I was hoping that they were making it up just to mess with me."

Vivi shook her head.

"No, it is real," she said, "And this is very serious."

"Why is that, Vivi-chan?" asked Sanji.

"Because," said Vivi in a grave voice, "If ever any of the rulers hear anything to do with this prophecy, they are to report to the World Government immediately and take the suspect under custody."

"Eh!?" shouted the crew.

"You're not going to turn Hawke in are you?" sobbed Chopper, running over and clinging to Hawke's leg.

Vivi shook her head.

"I won't do that," she reassured the crew, "We aren't even sure that the prophecy is talking about her. Though the evidence is beginning to pile up," she added, glancing towards Hawke.

The scout looked at the ground.

"But, what does this mean?" asked Nami, "Why would the World Government want to kill Hawke?"

Hawke raised her head.

"I think it's because of the part of the prophecy that talks about the true history being revealed," she mumble, "The World Government doesn't want people to know what happened in the Blank Century, and they will do anything to keep it hidden."

There was a momentary silence.

"This is a lot to take in," muttered Sanji.

"Tell me about it," groaned Hawke, and she flopped back onto the bed.

"So, let me get this straight," said Luffy, jumping up with a determined look on his face, "If the marines find out that Hawke is the person on the wanted poster, they'll come after us."

"Yes, that's pretty much it," said Usopp.

"Well then if that happens, we'll beat their asses!" shouted Luffy, throwing his fist in the air, "No one's gunna take my little sister away again!"

Hawke sat up and smiled.

"Luffy..," she whispered.

The captain spun around to face her. His face was surprisingly serious.

Hawke started as he raised his finger and pointed at her.

"And there's no way that you can't sail with us," he said, his voice almost menacing, "That's not going to happen!"

Hawke felt tears beginning to form in the corner of her eye.

"Of course, Luffy," she smiled, wiping them away, "I was getting too worked up, I'm sorry I said that."

Luffy gave her a satisfied smirk.

"It doesn't matter if you're part of this mystery prophecy," he laughed, "You're one of us, and it doesn't matter who comes after us. I'll just kick their asses until they run away crying."

Hawke looked up at Luffy. He was smiling down at her. She let her eyes wander to the others. They were all watching her with smiles on their faces.

"Thanks, you guys," she beamed at them.

Just then, the doors opened and a large woman entered

"So the captain is awake!" the woman exclaimed loudly, "Dinner's in thirty minutes. Does he mind waiting?"

A huge trolley of fruit was wheeled in after her.

"This is Terracotta-san," explained Vivi, "She's Igaram's wife and the Palace's top chef."

"You all took care of Vivi-san and my husband," laughed Terracotta, then she pointed at Luffy, "I've heard you eat a lot, do you think you could snack on this fruit until dinner time?"

The trolley was wheeled over to Luffy's bedside.

"Okay," said the captain and he immediately swallowed the entire contents of the trolley.

"Was that some kind of trick?!" exclaimed Zoro and Sanji, glaring at Luffy.

"I'm gunna eat three days' worth of food," Luffy advised Terracotta.

"I was hoping you would say that," she smiled, "I've been a chef for thirty years! I won't lose to some youngster's stomach, so eat all you can!"

"Yosh!" shouted Luffy.

"Well I'd better go prepare," said Terracotta, "See you in thirty minutes."

"Thank you," replied Vivi, then she turned to the crew, "I've organised a banquet for tonight," she smiled, "After all, I promised Luffy I'd feed him if he defeated Crocodile."

"Hurray!" shouted Luffy, "Food!"

Everyone laughed as their captain sped out of the room.

"He knows that it's not for another half hour…?" muttered Usopp in exasperation.

"Still," laughed Nami, "We'd better start heading down. He might eat it all straight out of the kitchen if we're not there to stop him."

The crew began making their way out of the infirmary.

At the door Hawke paused and turned to Vivi.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked nervously.

"There's no way I'm turning you in," said Vivi sternly, "But I think that you should be very careful about revealing yourself to anyone from now on."

Hawke nodded and they began following the others.

"Oh," said Vivi, "I almost forgot. We're holding a small ceremony for Pell tomorrow afternoon. Would you like to come?"

Hawke was slightly taken aback.

"But," she stuttered, "Am I allowed to? I didn't even know him."

Vivi smiled.

"You were there for his last moments," she said, "And I'm sure he would enjoy you being there."

Hawke rubbed her arm awkwardly.

"Well, alright," she muttered, "If I can, I will."

Just then a memory came floating back to her.

_Please help Princess Vivi restore peace to this country. _That's what Pell had asked her to do before he sacrificed himself.

Hawke looked down at the paper still in her hand.

"Well I hope I've helped enough," she said quietly to the floor.

"Helped who?" a gruff voice answered her.

Hawke started and looked up.

Vivi had caught up with the others, but Zoro had dropped back and was walking beside her.

"Ah… I made a promise to Pell before he died," she stuttered.

"The bird man?" he asked.

"Yeah," Hawke nodded.

They walked in silence for a few moments, following the crew through the palace.

"You shouldn't be going anywhere by yourself," Zoro snapped suddenly, "As soon as you're out of sight, Luffy gets worried."

Hawke blinked, his harsh tone made her stop walking.

"Luffy…?" she trailed off.

"And he's not the only one," muttered Zoro, staring at the floor.

Hawke's eyes widened.

_Well this came out of nowhere_, she thought. But the thought that Luffy and Zoro worried about her made her feel warm inside.

Zoro was looking at her.

He raised his hand and placed it on her shoulder.

"You… you're one of us, like Luffy said," he muttered, "It doesn't matter what your past or future is, I'll… I mean we'll protect you from anything that threatens you."

Hawke gazed at the swordsman. His cheeks were a little flushed and he couldn't hold her gaze. But she could tell that he wanted to say something more. She could feel her heart hammering against her ribs. The pressure was actually making her wound ache.

"I'm sorry that I panicked back there," she said, smiling, "I would never dream of leaving the Strawhats. This is where I want to be."

Zoro was still looking at the floor, but Hawke felt his hand squeeze a little harder on her shoulder.

"Just…, stay close okay," muttered the swordsman.

Hawke blushed and met Zoro's gaze, raising her hand and placing it on top of his.

"Promise," she said happily.

Zoro smirked and dropped his hand. Hawke did the same. There was comfortable feeling in the air around them.

"Oi Zoro!" Luffy's shout snapped the scout back to reality, "Hurry up or you'll get lost!"

The swordsman stiffened and shouted back down the hall.

"Shut up! I'm coming."

Hawke let out a giggle and they made their way after the crew.

"I think I might've strained myself," she mumbled, rubbing her side.

Zoro shot a concerned glance at her.

"Well I heard the King invited us to the Royal Baths after the feast," he said.

Hawke's spirit lifted a little.

"Well that's something to look forward too," she said as they finally reached the door to the dining hall.

A lively meal ensued; with dancing and face stuffing galore. The guards, though somewhat disgusted at first, eventually joined in on the festivities. Hawke ate quietly and watched the festivities of her crew enfold around her. _I am so grateful to be back,_ she sighed to herself.

Just as promised, the King invited them to the royal bath house after the meal. Nami, Vivi and Hawke had the entire women's half to themselves.

"This is glorious!" sang Hawke as she sank into a hot tub.

"This feels so good!" sighed Nami, "I wonder if there are any ships out there that have baths this big on them."

She and Vivi were taking turns washing each other's backs.

Hawke looked over.

"I'm sure there are," she laughed, "The Sea is so vast."

"We've seen giants, dinosaurs, and sakura bloom in a land of snow," sighed Vivi, scrubbing Nami's back, "The Sea must contain so many more unimaginable things!"

The two pirates looked fondly at the princess.

"Uh... what?" stammered Vivi.

They smiled.

"Switch," said Nami, "And Hawke, you're next."

"Alright," smiled the scout, reaching for her towel.

Just then, Vivi glanced up at the wall.

"Eh?!" she exclaimed, "Wait a minute, what are you all doing up there?"

Hawke jerked around.

"Eek!" she cried and sank up to her chin in the bath water.

The men had climbed the wall of their side of the bath to peek in over at the girls.

"Those guys…," said Nami sullenly, "Alright, it'll be 100 000 beri each."

She stood up.

"Happiness punch!" she laughed and dropped her towel.

"Nami!" exclaimed Hawke, "You're so bold."

"Nami-san!" gasped Vivi.

The men all fell backwards off the wall.

Nami smiled and gave the girls a thumbs-up.

Just then they heard some voices coming over the wall.

"What did you see, you pervert cook!" Hawke heard Zoro growl menacingly.

"Just the most beautiful sight the world has to offer!" came the love cooks response, "Mellorine!"

"What did you see?!" Zoro repeated and the sounds of a scuffle followed.

"Why are you so worked up, Mr. Swordsman?" they heard Igaram's voice, "Do you have feelings for the orange haired woman?"

"No!" snapped Zoro.

"Well then don't worry," the King's voice came over the wall, "She was the only one who exposed herself."

A silence followed. Then they heard the King's voice again.

"Thank you."

"You dirty old man!" the rest of the men jeered.

"Not for that!" snapped the King, "I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Thank you. Thank you so much."

Nami and Vivi smiled and gave Hawke sly side-long glances.

"What?!" huffed Hawke.

The two girls only giggled, then joined Hawke in the bath and relaxed.

After a long silence, Nami spoke.

"I suppose you're wondering," she began, turning to Vivi, "We're thinking of leaving tonight."

"Really?!" gasped Vivi, looking a bit sad.

"Well there isn't really a reason for us to be here anymore is there," said Hawke.

She had suspected as much when she'd seen Nami packing away her books.

"Our captain is awake and the marines are probably in the harbour," said Nami, "Our ships in danger."

"The Merry," Hawke sighed.

It had been ages since she'd been on the ship. She missed her.

They enjoyed the rest of their bath with unbridled pleasure and relaxation. Hawke felt the water soothing her wounds and replenishing her strength.

_Yes_, she thought, _it's about time we moved on. I wonder what Vivi will choose?_

She glanced over at Nami.

The girls exchanged smiles, then closed their eyes and relaxed.


End file.
